Quitting is for Herbivores
by Marabou
Summary: Hibari blames his defeat by Mukuro on Chrome. 1896 with a little 6996 and other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi! This will be the first story that I'm going to publicise here! I have written other KHR-stories before, and I have wanted to post something sooner, but because of my rather low self-__esteem, I haven't dared too do so until now... =)_

_Anyways, English is not my native language, so I have probably made some misspellings and grammar errors here and there. Sorry about that!_

_Like I said, this is the first story that I have posted here, and I hope you'll like it._

_This story will mostly be focused on Hibari, Chrome and Mukuro. But of course, Tsuna and other characters will be in it too._

_Pairings: 1896 in later chapters and a little 6996 as well. Possibly other pairings will show up later. No yaoi or yuri though. Sorry ^^;_

_KHR belongs to Amano Akira. __I don't own KHR or its characters in anyway!_

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**Wednesday**

**12:17 p.m.**

There was no doubt that Hibari Kyoya was the most fearsome person of Namimori Junior High. Not only was he feared by the students, but also the teachers. For that reason, most people would think twice before picking a fight with him.

Today, Hibari was feeling extra moody. He had had a fight with Rokudo Mukuro yesterday and lost. He could always blame it on Mukuro's annoying vessel who had been watching them from a distance, looking frightened. Hibari had just been about to strike the final attack at his opponent when he had noticed her presence and been distracted.

Thinking back, he felt the frustration building up inside of him.

'_Flashback'._

_Hibari swung his tonfa at Mukuro, who in return blocked it with his trident._

_He smirked evilly at the prefect and chuckled. Hibari glared back at him, annoyed by his stupid laugh and that he seemed to find the situation amusing when Hibari himself was dead serious. He attempted to attack him again, using the other tonfa, but something had caught his eye and distracted him._

_Looking to his left, he saw Chrome Dokuro standing with her back against the wall and with a frightened look on her face as she was watching the scene in front of her. She was slightly trembling and her hands were clasped, as if she was praying. Maybe she was._

_While Hibari was diverted from the battle, __Mukuro trapped him in another one of his illusions, in the form of Sakura's and defeated him. Hibari's right arm took most of the damage._

"_Is that all you got?" Mukuro asked teasingly while looking down at him "I wasn't expecting you to be such a letdown, Hibari Kyoya"._

_He laughed his infamous laugh __once more before leaving Hibari wounded on the ground._

_Chrome waited until her master __had disappeared before approaching Hibari and kneeling down next to him. She brought out a bandage from her green satchel and tried to bandage his injured arm._

_Hibari angrily slapped her hand away and frowned at her._

"_If you hadn't distracted me like that, I would have won" he said harshly._

_Chrome lowered her gaze._

"_I__'m… sorry" she mumbled shyly "I'll…just leave"._

_She excused herself __and followed Mukuro._

'_End flashback'._

Hibari's eyebrows narrowed when he thought of yesterday, and the humiliation that Mukuro had put him through, just like he had done that day almost three years ago.

Hibari had been training hard to become stronger, so to defeat Mukuro the next time they fought. However, he hadn't been really prepared to find Mukuro stronger as well. He just couldn't understand how that was even possible when he had spent over two years in a water tank. There was no way that he could have gained so much power during that time, unless he was using Chrome in some sort of way.

Nevertheless, Hibari couldn't care less about neither Mukuro nor Chrome.

One day, he would get his revenge, and that was all that mattered.

As he was patrolling the corridors, students immediately moved out of the way, afraid to get bitten to death if they got in his way.

Even the other members of the Disciplinary Committee were extra wary of him today.

At lunchtime, Hibari settled himself on the school roof, scaring off some other students who had gotten there before him just by glaring at them.

From here, he had a great view over the town. If it weren't for the high buildings in the way, he would be able to see all the way to Kokuyo Land where he had been fighting Mukuro the day before.

"I thought I'd find you here" a voice said suddenly "Hibari".

Hibari looked behind him. He hadn't noticed the presence of another person up here until he spoke to him. He had been quite surprised by it.

Either, it was the irritation and frustration of losing to Mukuro that made him unfocused of his surroundings or the other person was simply really good at concealing their presence.

It could possibly be both alternatives.

"Hmh? The baby?" Hibari said when seeing the small hitman by the entrance "What do you want?"

Reborn leaped closer to the prefect and looked up at him.

"I heard about your fight with Mukuro from Chrome a few hours ago" he replied.

Hibari's eyes narrowed and he unconsciously clenched his fists.

"Did you now?" Hibari muttered in annoyance. He did not want to be reminded of yesterday.

"I'm not here to humiliate you though" Reborn told him "I came here to remind you of the Vongola party on Friday".

Hibari rolled his eyes and turned his back to the Arcobaleno.

"I'm not going" he said shortly "I hate crowds".

Reborn smiled a little.

"I see. I guess he was right then" he said and shrugged his small shoulders. When Hibari looked back at him over his shoulder questioningly, he continued "Mukuro that is".

"What?" Hibari frowned.

"According to Chrome, Mukuro had said that you would be too scared to show up since he would be there" Reborn explained "And Chrome isn't the kind of person who would lie about such a thing, is she?"

At that moment, Hibari felt like killing someone. He was utterly enraged. However, he managed to keep his cool, because going on a rampage would have been a very un-Hibari-like thing to do.

When he didn't reply, Reborn added:

"If you don't show up, people might think that Mukuro is right and lose their respect towards you, Hibari".

That was it. There was no way Hibari was going to allow something like that to happen. If people were to lose their respect and fear of him, he might end up like Sawada Tsunayoshi; or Chrome Dokuro for that matter as well, pitiable and looked down upon. He could not risk his reputation to be destroyed by Mukuro.

"I'll be there" Hibari said avoiding and turned away from Reborn once again.

Reborn smirked satisfied and nodded.

"I'll be expecting you".

**12:26 p.m.**

While Hibari was still on the roof, feeling grumpy about last night, Mukuro had persuaded Chrome into getting a new dress for the upcoming party.

Though he wasn't particularly fond of parties (especially not those held by the Mafia), he had promised that he would tag along for the sake of seeing Chrome in a pretty dress. Or that's what he had said at least. Chrome knew though that the main reason that he would attend as the Vongola Mist Guardian would be as a gesture of gratitude towards Tsuna for having him released from Vendicare.

As Mukuro was roaming the streets, with a somewhat reluctant Chrome following him close behind, he would peek through the shopping windows, searching for the perfect dress for her.

"Mukuro-sama" Chrome said carefully "There… really is no need to…"

Mukuro turned around to face her. He was smiling.

"No need?" he inquired "Chrome dear, you've done so much for me, and I have taken you for granted and neglected you for the past three years that I've known you. The least I could do for you is to buy you a proper dress for the party".

"Th-that's not true, Mukuro-sama!" Chrome exclaimed. When seeing the surprised look on his face, she immediately blushed and added quietly: "I'm the one who owes Mukuro-sama. And it… hasn't been three years. Only two and eight months…"

Mukuro raised an eyebrow before smiling, noticing how cute she looked at that moment.

"You've been counting the weeks and days too?" he asked teasingly.

"Eh?" Chrome said puzzled, looking worried "Sh-should I have?"

Mukuro surprised her by laughing out loud, and probably the people passing by as well.

"Kufufu!" he chuckled and ruffled her hair with his hand "My cute little Chrome. No, you don't have to do that".

Chrome sighed relieved. But she couldn't figure out what it was that had been so funny. Deciding that it probably wasn't anything to fret about, since Mukuro would sometimes suddenly laugh at people when they said something, Chrome followed him as he motioned for them to go into an exclusive looking clothing store.

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_Okay, that was the first chapter. It wasn't very long, I know. But I'll update the next chapter as soon as I'm done writing __it._

_I'd be super happy if I got some reviews! Thank you for reading! =)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi, everyone! I'm sorry for not updating this for like... ages! I've had some other thing to do, and I've had a hard time coming up with a continuation for the story. I would like to thank all of my patient reviewers! I was so happy each time I saw that I had recieved a new review! Thank you very much! _

_I'll try to update faster next time! Yet again, thank you for r&r!_

_KHR still doesn't belong to me... And I think it's probably for the best, since I would completely ruin the story and the characters! ^^_

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**Thursday**

**07:20 a.m.**

Hibari held up the white shirt Reborn had provided him with yesterday evening and frowned.

What was the point of this party anyway? He had better things to do than fooling around at an already over-crowded place.

And to make things worse, Mukuro would be there.

He was still pissed over the rumour that the illusionist had been spreading around; the one about him being too scared to attend because of fear for Mukuro.

Hibari huffed and threw the shirt on the bed.

He glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was time to go to school. He had to be there at least half an hour before the first students started to show up, which was around 8 a clock.

After throwing his jacket over his shoulders and letting Hibird settle himself in his hair, he exited his apartment and headed off towards Namimori Junior High.

**07:24 a.m.**

Few people were out on the streets by this time, and that's how Hibari wanted it. That's why he would leave early, to avoid getting caught in a big crowd of annoying herbivores.

He caught a familiar sight in form of Chrome Dokuro further down the street.

What was she doing out here this early anyway?

He glanced around her, expecting Mukuro to be somewhere nearby, but he wasn't.

Despite not wanting to talk to her, she was in his way, so he had to walk past her. Perhaps he could get by without her noticing. She was rather dense anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard.

However, since there was so little people outside, and because they all seemed to move out of the way as soon as Hibari got close, it was quite easy for Chrome to spot him.

"Cloud-person" she said, just as he had gotten past her.

Hibari froze and felt his muscles tense as se called out for him. He reluctantly turned around to face her, annoyance written all over his face.

"What?" he snapped at her.

Chrome just blinked innocently, unaware of the frustration inside him.

"How is your arm?" she asked, surprising him "Is it healed yet?"

Hibari narrowed his eyes at her.

"Why do you ask?" he inquired suspiciously "Did Mukuro send you?"

"No" Chrome replied and tilted her head to the side "I just asked because I was worried".

Hibari just muttered something and turned around to continue his walk towards the school.

"Ah!" Chrome said and hurried after him "Wait! There is something…!"

Ignoring her, Hibari walked a little faster.

Suddenly, as he was crossing the street, he heard a shriek behind him, and when he turned around to see what had happened, Chrome was sitting by the side of the road, holding her left foot.

"Ouch" she mumbled.

Hibari sighed and reluctantly walked back to her.

"What happened?" he said brusquely.

Chrome looked up at him tearfully.

"I… I tripped" she said and looked over at the edge of the sidewalk "Ugh… My foot…"

"Klutz" Hibari muttered. He poked her foot with his index finger.

Chrome cried and complained about the pain. Some curious bystanders came over to see if she was alright.

Hibari sighed again and helped her stand up. He exhorted her to stand on both feet, but each time she tried, she would just start whining.

Figuring that it might be sprained, Hibari lifted her onto his back and carried her off towards the hospital. He was not happy though. Because of Chrome's clumsiness, he would not be able to get to the school on time.

**07:32 a.m.**

Chrome murmured apologizes every ten second for being an inconvenience to him.

Hibari didn't answer. He was just getting more annoyed by each time she apologized.

Finally, after she had said that she was sorry for the tenth time, he was close on dropping her in the middle of the street and just let her sit there for all he cared.

"I get your point already" he said irritated "Stop apologizing".

"I'm sorry!" Chrome replied hastily. So now she was apologizing for annoying him by apologizing for being a klutz. That's great.

Hibari rolled his eyes and told her to just shut up for a while.

Chrome obeyed. For about one minute.

"Mukuro-sama will be really disappointed in me" he heard her mumble to herself.

For tripping, he wanted to ask, but he didn't.

After another minute of silence, she spoke again.

"Are you… still angry at Mukuro-sama?" she wondered.

Hibari frowned.

"I'm always angry at him" he responded.

"I see" Chrome said sadly.

They soon arrived at the smaller hospital where the Vongola are usually treated after engaging in battles or just being stupid enough to sprain their feet on the sidewalk.

Hibari noticed a couple of black cars outside and men in black suits. He instantly recognized a few of them as Dino's underlings, and figured out that the Cavallone boss probably was inside. He was on the verge of turning back and head for Namimori Hospital instead, since he really did not want to see him.

But if he had done that, Chrome would start asking why he did that. Besides, it was a long way to the larger hospital, and the sooner he could get rid of this girl the better.

And those subordinates of his had already detected him.

"Ah! It's Hibari-san!" one of the men waved at him. He stopped waving at him when he saw Chrome on his back "Did something happen? Is she alright?"

Hibari completely ignored him and went inside with Chrome.

The receptionist immediately jumped up from her seat and pointed the way to a private room.

A doctor came to check on Chrome quite quickly. It seemed that members of the Vongola and other large mafia families had higher priority than the rest of the patients.

Most of the patients were mafia though.

Chrome stated that it didn't hurt so much anymore, and that it was probably just a small strain. Though, when the doctor tried to remove her shoe to examine her foot, she shrieked and actually kicked him in the face with her healthy foot.

Mukuro would have been so proud.

The doctor fell on the floor and held his now reddened cheek.

Hibari coughed lightly to cover an amused chuckle.

Immediately realizing her mistake, Chrome panicked.

"I-I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed and looked down at the doctor with worry in her eye "Are you alright?"

The doctor stood up and gave her a nervous smile. He excused himself and rushed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Eh?" Chrome said surprised "Where is he going?"

"You scared him off" Hibari said simply, trying to keep himself from smirking.

Chrome blushed in embarrassment.

The door opened again and in came, to Hibari's annoyance, Dino.

"Hey, Chrome!" he greeted the girl and casually walked inside "I heard you scared off the doctor. Nice going there".

Chrome's face turned even redder. Soon the whole town would know about it.

"Don't worry about it" Dino assured her "It's no big deal".

No big deal? To Chrome it was quite a big deal.

"Why are you here?" Hibari asked suddenly.

Dino jumped and looked at him.

"K-Kyoya! Since when were you here?" he asked. He hadn't seen him.

"He brought me here" Chrome replied instead of him.

Dino blinked.

"Ah, I see" he said and scratched the back of his head "I'm so proud of you, Kyoya".

Hibari just glared at him.

"You didn't answer my question" he muttered.

"Ah, about that" he said and pulled up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal a large bandage around his arm "I fell down a stair in the park and grazed my elbow. It looked pretty nasty, so Romario insisted that I should go and have it checked".

Hibari shook his head and sighed.

"Well then!" Dino said and ruffled Chrome's hair "I'll make sure that Mukuro knows you're here, so you don't have to think about that".

"Uhm… Thank you" Chrome said gratefully.

"I have to go now" the blond said "I've got some things to deal with, but I'll see you guys at the party tomorrow, right?"

Hibari didn't reply, which Dino took as a yes.

"Another doctor will come to check on you soon!" he said and winked at Chrome "I'll see you later!"

He left the room, leaving Hibari and Chrome alone again.

Hibari threw a glance at the clock on the wall. It was already 7:50. Too much time had been wasted here.

He muttered something inaudibly and started walking towards the exit. He was stopped by Chrome calling out for him.

"Uhm… C-Cloud-person!" she said, sounding almost desperate "C-could I ask you for a favour?"

Hibari turned around and looked at her with a bored expression on his face. Hadn't he done enough for her already? How much did it take to make her truly satisfied?

"C-could you…" she began when he didn't answer. She gulped before continuing "Could you stay here for a while? At least until Mukuro-sama gets here?"

Hibari didn't need to think for long.

"No" he said shortly "You've taken up enough of my time. I don't owe you any favour".

Chrome looked down at her hands in her lap.

"You're right…" she said sadly "You don't".

That sad look on her face made Hibari feel even more aggravated and irritated… and perhaps… a bit guilty?

After all, he had ignored her when she had tried to tell him something, and thus she had tripped and possibly sprained her ankle.

"Fine" he said finally and pulled out a chair to sit beside the bed "But as soon as he gets here, I'm leaving".

Chrome smiled and nodded.

"Thank you" she said.

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_Thank you for reading! Reviews are very much appreciated! :D_


	3. Chapter 3

_Ciaossu, my loyal readers! I know, I know, it's been so looooong since I updated this, and I apologize for that!_ _I keep saying that I will update faster, but I'm not going to do that anymore since I clearly can't stick to that promise. I've been really busy with school and personal stuff._

_Anyways, I get so very happy when I read the reviews! It really brightens my day! :D_

_Thank you all! Love ya! 3_

**09:16 a.m.**

"You alright, Chrome?" Mukuro inquired as he carefully adjusted her into a more comfortable and stable position on his back.

Chrome uttered a quiet 'yes' while keeping her gaze at the ground nervously.

Aware of her uneasiness, Mukuro sighed amusedly and started walking.

"I would use an illusion to get us home more quickly" he informed her as he carried her across the street "But the Arcobaleno warned me not to attract unnecessary attention".

Chrome nodded, despite knowing that he couldn't see it.

"Besides, it's quite comfy this way, don't you think?" Mukuro looked back at her over his shoulder and smirked playfully.

Chrome blushed furiously but refrained from commenting his perverted statement.

Mukuro just chuckled at the embarrassed expression on her face as he turned his head away.

After a few minutes of silence, Mukuro thought of something that he had been eager ask all along.

"By the way, Chrome?" he said and pursed his lips slightly "Who brought you to the hospital? It appears Cavallone forgot to mention that".

Chrome stiffened.

Would it be such a good idea to tell him about Hibari? What if he got angry? No, she wasn't worried about angering him. She just didn't want to cause any trouble for Hibari and make him look bad. It was the last thing that she wanted at this point.

All in all, Dino may have been thinking the same thing, hence why he hadn't mentioned Hibari to Mukuro either.

"I… didn't know him" Chrome lied "I forgot to ask his name".

"Hmh… Is that so?" Mukuro said contemplating "That's too bad".

"Yes…" Chrome agreed quietly. It didn't matter who had helped her. Mukuro needn't know. It wasn't important. But, if Hibari wanted him to know, she would leave that to him.

Still, she guessed that he probably wanted to keep it a secret, judging by the fact that he had jumped out the window in the hospital only seconds before Mukuro entered the room.

He might think that she ruined his pride by letting others know that he had helped a 'pathetic herbivore' such as herself.

Speaking of Hibari, he had left so quickly, not giving Chrome a chance to thank him properly. At least, she hadn't thought so.

Even though he had helped her – something she was truly grateful for – just disappearing like that had been quite rude of him.

Oh well, nothing to do about that right now. She'd just have to thank him at tomorrow's party.

That's right! The party! How was she supposed to attend with an injured foot? Obviously, Mukuro couldn't keep carrying her around all the time!

She shared her concern with Mukuro who only emitted his signature laugh in reply and telling her not to worry. It would be alright.

"There are always crutches" he stated with a shrug of his shoulders.

However, that wasn't much of a comfort to her. She could only imagine what she would look like; wearing the beautiful dress Mukuro had given to her, along with a bandaged foot and two steel crutches. It would look stupid. _She_ would look stupid. And she really didn't want to put the name of Vongola to shame. Perhaps it would be for the best if she didn't show up at all. After all, Mukuro would be there, and they didn't need two Mist Guardians. She wasn't needed.

"Don't worry" Mukuro said suddenly "You will look beautiful no matter what. So you cannot skip out on this one".

Chrome blinked in surprise.

"Mukuro-sama read my thoughts?" she questioned.

"Not at all" the young man replied "I can only read your mind when we have a mental connection. And currently, we don't".

"Then how?" Chrome wondered inquisitively.

"It was merely an assumption" he said simply, ignoring the staring and whispering people that they were passing by "And judging by your reaction, that assumption was right, wasn't it?"

"Oh… I see" Chrome said with a nod. He had never really failed to amaze her, so this time was no exception. It was truly amazing how he was able to read her like a book. It might be a little scary, but still utterly amazing. He understood her when no one else did and he never really questioned or doubted her actions.

"Oya" Mukuro said as Namimori Middle High came into view. He stopped by the gates and looked towards the top floor of the yellow building. He had been almost certain that he had seen a familiar figure in the window. But as he looked again, the person was gone "Do you think he is still upset for losing?"

"Eh?" Chrome said confused and followed his gaze. It took a while for her to realize that it was Hibari he was talking about "I… I don't know".

"Either way, I wonder if he really will show up tomorrow" Mukuro wondered out loud and sneered mockingly.

_Yes_, Chrome thought. And for some reason, she was kind of hoping that he would. _So do I…_

**9:35 a.m.**

Standing by the side of the window, he wasn't sure why he was hiding. Why did he even have to hide? It was something only herbivores would do. How pathetic.

Good thing no one else was in the room to see these pitiful manners of his. If Kusakabe or someone else from the committee had been here to witness such a thing… No, he didn't even want to think about it.

Either way, it seemed like they were gone by now. The stupid illusionist and his stupid vessel that was.

Seating himself by his desk, Hibari sighed tiredly.

Why had he even had to help that girl in the first place? He had had no obligation to help her whatsoever, especially not when she had disturbed his fight with Mukuro and caused him to lose.

Lose… Such a word shouldn't even exist in his dictionary. At least not when it involved himself.

Abruptly standing up again, Hibari headed for the door. He'd go crazy if he stayed in here another minute, pondering about the fight that _he should _have won.

He could always patrol the corridors and look for troublemakers to bite to death. That would at least keep him entertained for a while.

But it proved to be much more difficult to find anyone to punish than he had thought. The students were behaving remarkably well, and he couldn't beat up someone who didn't do anything wrong.

There weren't even any large crowds or groups that he could complain about. And besides, the students would always become a bit more cautious whenever he showed up.

After not being able to find anyone who was misbehaving, he went up the stairs to take a nap on top of the roof. However, he wasn't the only one here. Sawada Tsunayoshi and Sasagawa Ryohei's little sister had gotten there before him, and they were currently talking with each other.

Apparently it was something quite embarrassing, because Tsuna's face was really red, and he was sweating very much.

They hadn't noticed him yet, so he managed to hear a little of their conversation, even though he had no interest in doing so at all.

"Uhm… Kyoko-chan…" Tsuna began nervously. He gulped before hesitantly continuing: "Th-there is something that I… would like to ask… you…"

The girl looked a bit confused before nodding.

"What is it, Tsuna-kun?" she asked with that sweet voice of hers.

"Ugh…" Tsuna gulped and clenched his hands into tight fists. His expression became more determinate and his eyes shot up to meet Kyoko's gaze "Would you please…?"

"Ah! Hibari-san!" she said suddenly.

"Eh?" Tsuna blinked and felt the temporary confidence disappear as quickly as it had appeared when he saw the prefect by the door.

Kyoko didn't seem very intimidated by the presence of Hibari. She simply turned to Tsuna and opened her mouth to say something, just as the school bell rang.

"Oh" she said and glanced at the clock on the wall "Class is about to start. We should get going".

And with a kind smile towards Tsuna, she hurried past Hibari and down the stairs.

Tsuna sighed and hung his head, earning a frown from the prefect.

"Why are you still here?" he inquired harshly "If you're late for class, I'll bite you to death".

Tsuna just mumbled something in response, which was quite unusual of him. Normally when Hibari threatened him, he would flinch and stutter a hasted excuse in his high-pitched voice before running away as fast as he could.

But this time was different. He looked rather depressed actually.

Not that it was any of Hibari's business. He couldn't care less about Tsuna's low self-esteem and whether he managed to ask the girl he liked out or not.

Hibari never cared about such trivial matters.

"Ah, that's right" Tsuna said, and raised his head "Is Hibari-san going to the party…"

"I have no choice" Hibari said brusquely and crossed his arms.

"Ah…" Tsuna said and scratched the back of his head nervously "Even though Mukuro will be there?"

Hibari narrowed his eyes and suddenly felt like punching him.

"Yes…" he said bitterly after a moment's silence "Even so".

"O-okay" Tsuna even smiled a little "Then… I'm glad".

While wondering what in the world there was to be glad for about him coming too, Hibari didn't get the time to ask since Tsuna had already left down the stairs for his lesson.

Herbivores and their herbivorous feelings.

Things such as love and friendship were something Hibari knew that he would never be able to fully understand. But it didn't matter. He did not have any use of neither romance nor friends. He was content with his life as it was, doing what he wanted and felt like. Being in a relationship would only mean restrictions, adjustments as well as doing ridiculous things so to satisfy your partner.

Though he hadn't meant for it to happen, for some reason an image of Chrome appeared in his mind, causing him to grunt in annoyance.

He came to the conclusion that her being an illusionist, was able to invade people's minds, on the contrary of Mukuro's ability to take over one's body.

The only question was: why would she do such a thing? He had already grudgingly helped her out, despite the fact that he hadn't gained anything from it. So why did she keep pestering him by reappearing in his mind?

Hibari didn't like it. No, scratch that, he truly hated it.

It made him feel like he was losing control of himself, and there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it.

**10:08 a.m.**

While back at Kokuyo Land, Mukuro had suggested that Chrome should rest for a while, but it was hard to do so since she didn't feel very tired at all, even though she had slept less than 5 hours.

Upon arrival, Ken had of course scolded her for being clumsy, while Chikusa had barely said anything, besides asking if she was alright.

Chrome appreciated it. She even appreciated Ken's outbursts towards her, since she knew that it only meant that he cared.

At least that's what Mukuro had told her.

Her new dress was hanging in the wardrobe, and she was sort of looking forward to wear it.

She had never been to a grand party before… In fact, she couldn't recall ever being at a party at all. It wasn't like her parents had ever actually brought her with them when attending to one of those important events, even though they were allowed to bring her with.

No, _Nagi _would have to stay home alone and wait for them to return, which would sometimes be in the middle of the night. The next day at the breakfast table, her mother and stepfather would happily speak of yesterday's gathering while Nagi wouldn't understand anything at all, because she hadn't been there.

Chrome shook her head. Why was she even thinking of the past?

This time would be different.

She would go to that party with her Mukuro-sama since her boss had wanted her to. The arcobaleno Reborn and the other guardians would be there. Hibari Kyoya might be there too.

Yes, Chrome was very much looking forward to tomorrow.

There was just one problem, which by the way wouldn't go away until in a couple of weeks or so.

Frowning disapprovingly at her left foot, Chrome sighed inwardly.

If there was something that she really disliked, it was the feeling of being helpless. She didn't like having to depend on others because she knew that she would end up being a burden to them, even if they were to deny it. She really didn't want to trouble anyone.

"No matter how much you glare at it, it won't heal faster".

Chrome almost fell off the mattress. She hadn't heard him coming.

"Mukuro-sama" she uttered in surprise.

Mukuro was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. He grinned with his usual cocky smile at her before walking over and sitting down beside her foot on her bed.

"I was meaning to ask" he said and eyed her closely "What were you doing outside so early? Did you have some kind of errand?"

Chrome shook her head and clasped her hands in her lap.

"I was just out for a walk" she said timidly. It had already been a year since she had first got to know him, but she was still feeling nervous in his presence.

Mukuro didn't look too convinced. He was concerned with the fact that her lying was starting to become more frequent. When he had first met her, she would never lie to him.

Figuring that she probably had her reasons for doing so, he decided not to question her about it. As long as it didn't become a bad habit, for then he would have to speak up.

"I see" he kept smiling at her; simply to not make her realize that he had seen through her little lie "I suppose that's fine then. Just let me know next time before you disappear like that, will you?"

A reasonable request.

Chrome nodded, which Mukuro responded to by giving her a pat on her head.

"Now" he said and stood up again "I have informed the arcobaleno of your condition and he will provide you with crutches by tomorrow".

Chrome nodded again. For Mukuro to have already contacted Reborn, he surely had to be thinking of her wellbeing.

"Oh, right" he said suddenly "One more thing. M.M. just…"

He was cut off by said girl's loud voice.

"Chrome-baka!" the red-haired appeared in the doorway.

"…arrived…" Mukuro finished. Chrome could see the corner of his lips twitching slightly.

"You're even stupider than you look!" M.M. exclaimed and stood by the bed with her hands on her hips. She grimaced rudely at Chrome "Geez! You're just causing trouble for Mukuro-san all the time!"

Chrome flinched at her tone.

"I-I'm sorry" she squeaked and instinctively held her hands in front of her face in case M.M. decided to slap her… again.

Mukuro sighed tiredly and waved M.M. towards the exit.

"Chrome is injured" he reminded her "She needs rest".

"Fine, I got it" M.M. pouted "I just have to talk to her about something".

When Mukuro just stared at her, she continued:

"In private".

Chrome looked from M.M. to Mukuro and then back in confusion. M.M. had something to tell her that Mukuro couldn't hear?

"Alright" Mukuro said after a while and headed for the door "Just don't do anything stupid, M.M."

"The only one here who does stupid things here is Chrome" M.M. said and looked at Chrome judgmentally.

Mukuro raised an eyebrow and shook his head before leaving the room.

M.M. didn't say anything at once. She crossed her arms and stared towards the window.

There were a few dark clouds hovering across the sky. It might start raining soon.

After about three minutes of complete silence, Chrome couldn't take it anymore.

"Uhm… M.M.-san…" she began hesitantly while keeping her eye on the other female "What… was it that you… wanted to talk about?"

M.M. turned her gaze from the window to Chrome and narrowed her eyebrows slightly. Her posture remained the same however.

After another twenty seconds, she said:

"Is there something going on between you and that Cloud Guardian, Hibari Kyoya?"

It took a while for Chrome to comprehend what it was that M.M. was implying, but as soon as she did, her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink.

"M-me and… Cloud-person?" Chrome asked and fretfully began to fiddle with the hem of her skirt while avoiding meeting the other girl's gaze "Wh-why do you think…?"

"I saw you" M.M. replied and tucked some of her distinctive colored hair behind her ear "This morning, when he carried you off to the hospital".

Chrome's eye widened slightly and she realized that M.M probably had misinterpreted the situation. Of course, who wouldn't? Anyone knew that if Hibari Kyoya ever were to cross ways with an injured person, he most likely wouldn't bother helping them. M.M. might have thought that he had helped Chrome because there was something going on between them.

"Not that I really care though" M.M. said nonchalantly "If you get together with that guy, that only means that there is one less hindrance between me and Mukuro-san" she seemed to think about what she had said for a second and smiled "That's really good news for me actually".

Chrome just stared at her dumbfounded.

"However" M.M. continued and her expression turned serious again "I'm just warning you. That guy is dangerous and might end up hurting your feelings, so be careful".

"Are you… worried… about me?" Chrome asked surprised.

"I'm not worried about you, stupid!" M.M. said immediately and glared at her angrily "I'm just a bit… concerned for you! That's all!"

_Isn't that the same thing? _Chrome thought and blinked in confusion.

"Anyways" M.M. cleared her throat "If you need help… don't… hesitate to ask… me".

And with that, she strode towards the door and slammed it shut behind her.

Chrome smiled a little unsurely. Even though she didn't feel the way about Hibari as M.M. had assumed she did, she was still feeling happy. She felt as though she had gotten closer to M.M. and she was grateful for it.

_And that was the third chapter! I have started writing the fourth chapter, so it might –just might- be updated sooner than the previous chapters! But I better not promise anything though. Haha! ^^_

_As always, reviews are appreciated! Thank you!_

_Oh, don't forget that it's April Fools today, so be aware! __X3_


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everybody! Thank you all for reading my story! It truly means a lot!

Extra thanks to **yui33aki , Kichou , cute-saki, chrome-yuuki, LotusReila **and** Spottie **for reviewing the 3rd chapter and to everyone who has added this story to their favorites! As you might know already, I love getting reviews!

And holy-! It has only been a month since my latest update! I have never updated this quickly before. Guess I must have been quite bored lately, haha ^^

Well, enjoy the forth chapter of QIFH! :D

* * *

**Friday**

**08:14 p.m.**

While Reborn disappeared somewhere into the large crowds, Tsuna was left alone in the middle of the room, surrounded by people he didn't know and had never seen before. He began to notice how they all were looking weirdly at him while whispering and mumbling with their fellow companions.

Tsuna cringed uncomfortably and was starting to wish that he could just to disappear like Reborn had done. That Arcobaleno had just abandoned him without any explanation as to where he was going.

Well, at least _some _company would have been better than just standing around while being stared at like some kind of animal at the zoo. Even talking to Mukuro would have been okay at a moment like this. Though in that case, it would feel a lot better if Chrome was around as well.

Speaking of Chrome, it had been a long time since Tsuna last saw her. He would occasionally see Mukuro, Ken or Chikusa wandering through the shopping districts or patrolling the streets, but never Chrome. He was beginning to worry that Mukuro might have locked her up in a room somewhere at Kokuyo Land and forbidden her from leaving.

"Nah, that wouldn't happen" Tsuna said out loud "Not even Mukuro is _that _creepy".

"I'm sure that I can be a lot creepier than what you just imagined" Tsuna heard Mukuro's voice from somewhere behind him. There was a hint of amusement in it like it usually was when he commented something that Tsuna said.

Tsuna yelped and spun around quickly.

He absolutely hated when people came sneaking up on him like that, specifically when it came to Mukuro. The fact that he had just spoken out loud of how creepy he thought Mukuro was hadn't really helped. Truth to be told, he did feel quite embarrassed right now.

"M-Mukuro!" he exclaimed and unconsciously took a step backwards. Who knows, Mukuro might find this a good time to impale him with that trident of his, despite the many people present. But it didn't seem as though he was in the mood to fight "Don't scare me like that! Geez…!" Tsuna managed to calm himself down a little. He looked at his Mist Guardian who was staring back at him with that smug smirk of his "Ah! Where is Chrome? You said you'd bring her here!"

Tsuna might have sounded a bit more troubled than he had meant to. But Mukuro didn't seem to take any notice of it. He chuckled before nodding his head towards his left.

"There is no need to get so worked up, Sawada Tsunayoshi" the illusionist said calmingly, still with the scornful smile on his lips "My cute little Chrome is right over there along with your female admirers".

"Admirers?" Tsuna said confused, yet he couldn't quite hide the curiosity in his voice. Did he have some secret admirers that only Mukuro was aware of?

"Ah, I apologize" Mukuro held back a laugh "I meant the indefatigable, cosplay-loving stalker and Sasagawa Ryohei's naïve little sister of whom you have perverted thoughts about on a daily basis".

Tsuna instantly took back his previous thoughts about how it would have been better to have Mukuro around than being alone. He would have liked Mukuro to just leave him alone instead of humiliating him like this. He was actually more upset that Mukuro had alleged him for having weird thoughts about Kyoko than the fact that he had tricked him that he had female admirers.

"I do not have perverted thoughts about Kyoko-chan!" he said angrily, not caring that it was Mukuro he was talking to and not Reborn "How can you even think something like that?"

Mukuro chuckled amusedly. It was just the kind of reaction that he had expected from the tenth Vongola boss. Anxiety.

"I'm just messing with you" Mukuro said reassuringly, content that he had managed to inflict such emotional damage to Tsuna's mind so easily "Of course, you are still too immature to have that kind of thoughts".

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" Tsuna inquired exasperatingly.

"I never said that I was trying to make you feel better" Mukuro smirked.

As they kept on bickering, Gokudera appeared out of the crowds. He called out for Tsuna and stood between him and Mukuro while glaring suspiciously at the taller man.

"You bastard" he muttered and narrowed his eyes "You were trying to do something funny to Juudaime, weren't you?"

"If having a normal conversation can be considered 'something funny', then yes, I was" Mukuro said casually.

Gokudera didn't look convinced. He was still frowning at Mukuro and refused to step aside despite Tsuna assuring him that everything was fine.

Of course, Gokudera wasn't stupid enough to start a fight in a place such as this. He had already attracted enough attention from bystanders as it was. But that didn't stop him from challenging Mukuro to a fight later on.

Mukuro's answer to that invitation was not what he had hoped for though.

"You are 10 years too early to even consider challenging me, Gokudera Hayato" Mukuro said. He was no longer smiling, which meant that he was serious "You are still too weak. If you wish to fight me nevertheless, the least you could do is try to defeat Yamamoto Takeshi first".

To say that Gokudera had been offended by that was an understatement. To be degraded below Yamamoto's level of strength was the ultimate insult. Not because he found Yamamoto to be weak, but because he was Gokudera's rival for the position of Tsuna's right-hand man. He had always seen himself as the stronger of the two, but now that even Mukuro was stating that Yamamoto was the stronger one, he wasn't sure if that was the case anymore. He was also feeling very frustrated, and it was only a matter of time before his great dislike towards the Mist Guardian would turn into pure hatred. Perhaps he already did hate him?

Mukuro smirked at the dumbfounded expression on Gokudera's face before nodding shortly towards Tsuna and disappearing into the crowd.

"Gokudera-kun, are you alright?" Tsuna inquired worryingly.

Before Gokudera could answer, Haru, dressed in as short green dress, suddenly appeared beside Tsuna.

"Tsuna-san!" she squealed and locked her arm with his "Haru has been looking for you! Aren't you going to ask Haru to dance?"

"Eh?" Tsuna uttered and tried to pull away from her. He couldn't just say 'no' since that would hurt her feelings, yet at the same time, he was probably the worst dancer in the world, so he would only end up embarrassing himself, and her too for that matter "Haru, I'm not…"

However, luckily for him, Haru was just the distraction that Gokudera needed to snap out of his trance. He immediately turned his frustration at her since Mukuro was already gone.

"Stupid woman!" he yelled and pulled Tsuna's other arm "Stop bothering Juudaime! Go dance with Yamamoto instead!"

"Haru wants to dance with Tsuna-san first!" Haru pouted and refused to let go of his arm "Besides, Yamamoto-san is not even here yet!"

"Either way, he doesn't want to!" Gokudera retorted back at her.

"How would you know that, Gokudera-san?" Haru questioned.

"Because I am his right-hand man!" Gokudera stated proudly "Of course I would know!"

Haru pouted at him, but her face instantly lit up as she noticed Kyoko walking over towards them.

"Ah, Kyoko-chan!" she said happily "Surely, Tsuna-san would like to dance with Haru, right?"

_Kyoko-chan? _Tsuna's head instinctively turned in the direction where Haru was looking to see Kyoko standing there in a very beautiful pink evening dress, smiling innocently.

Now he definitely couldn't dance with Haru. Not when Kyoko was watching. What if she'd misinterpret the situation and think that he actually preferred Haru before her.

"I'm sure that it would make Haru-chan happy if you did, Tsuna-kun" she said with a soft smile. Of course she'd say something like that. After all, she was the kindest person that Tsuna knew, always so considerate towards everyone else.

"Ugh…" Tsuna sighed in defeat. If Kyoko encouraged him to dance with Haru, he couldn't say no.

"VOOOOOOOOOIIIIII!"

All the guests flinched at the piercing sound that nearly cracked their eardrums. Even the loud music coming from the stereo was drowned by the loud voice of Superbi Squalo.

"So you trash did show up after all, huh?" the swordsman exclaimed, using his boss's notorious catchphrase. He approached the small group, followed by Bel and Lussuria.

"Ah! Varia!" Tsuna unconsciously cringed. He was always feeling quite nervous whenever the Varia came around, even though they were no longer enemies. It was something about the way they all behaved that simply freaked him out.

"Ushishishi" Bel chuckled and grinned widely, the blond fringe covering his eyes and his crown on edge on top of his head "Told you they'd be here".

"Hello, everyone!" Lussuria exclaimed. He didn't sound much different from what Haru had done upon finding Tsuna in the large crowds "Are you enjoying yourself? You all look gorgeous!"

Both Kyoko and Haru had been very flattered by the praise and quickly thanked him by returning the comment. Tsuna and Gokudera just gawked at him abhorrently.

"Where are the rest of you weaklings?" Squalo queried in a harsh voice "Where is Yamamoto Takeshi? I feel like stabbing someone!"

Tsuna shuddered. It was a good thing that Yamamoto had not arrived yet.

"Onii-san is training late today" Kyoko told them "But he should be here soon, and Yamamoto-kun too. He just finished his baseball practice".

Tsuna felt an unexpectedly weird feeling in his stomach as he wondered why Kyoko knew about Yamamoto's whereabouts when no one else did. He had never seen the two of them as very close. It couldn't possibly be that he was jealous?

No, that was impossible. Yamamoto was aware of how infatuated Tsuna was with Kyoko. He had even said that he supported him to 100%.

Tsuna felt suddenly stupid and ashamed for thinking so lowly about Yamamoto. Kyoko had probably just met him on the way here and he had told her that he would be late.

"The bastard illusionist is around here somewhere" Gokudera muttered and crossed his arms over his chest "Chrome too".

"I haven't seen Hibari-san yet though" Tsuna said and looked around to room, hoping to spot the prefect somewhere. Reborn said that he had promised to come, so he should be here already.

Hibari yawned loudly as he was standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed.

From here, he had a good view over everything that was going on inside the huge room that was packed with people. He didn't miss Sawada Tsunayoshi's frightened expression as he had discovered that the Varia was also present. The fact that Varia had appeared was maybe not so shocking, but more the fact that Xanxus had actually showed up too. Though he was mostly sulking to himself in a corner and glare daggers at anyone who got too close to him, much like Hibari was doing.

Hibari witnessed how Dino entered the room without any of his subordinates with him and how he in his attempt to hurry over and greet Tsuna accidentally stumbled into a group of people that were mingling with each other and made them all spill their drinks on their clothes.

They had all stared angrily at Dino who had tried to lighten up the mood with a nervous laugh and a casual apologize. He wasn't very popular after that incident.

Despite the occasional comic reliefs by Dino, this party-or-whatever really was a drag. Hibari though that people were standing way too close to him, and he did not approve of it. To make things worse it didn't seem like they would be scared off that easily, perhaps because they were mafia, or maybe he just didn't seem as intimidating as he normally did.

Was it because of Mukuro? Had he gone and told _everyone _about Hibari's loss towards him, making them believe that he wasn't as strong and fearsome as one would have believed at first.

And even though he had already threatened to bite numerous people to death, it was starting to get annoying as it would only temporary scare them off. Within a few minutes, they would be back, dancing or chatting with each other, only a few feet away from him.

Hibari glanced across the room and spotted Rokudo Mukuro, talking with Dino, who had just recovered from another mishap, as well as some of his bodyguards.

Chrome was not around.

He had seen her when she arrived with Mukuro, and there was no denying that despite the crutches that supported her as well as a bandaged foot, she had still looked… all right, or perhaps even somewhat pretty in her knee length dark blue dress, though Hibari would _never _admit such a thing out loud. With her new attire, she looked more feminine and less like Mukuro, which was always a positive thing.

But it was troublesome how Chrome seemed to constantly occupy Hibari's mind when he least expected it. Even Hibird reminded him of her, carrying the same kind of innocence in his eyes as Chrome did.

Noticing how Hibari was glaring towards them, Dino smiled and waved at him.

Hibari huffed and turned his head in the other direction.

Expecting Dino to be the one to come over when the clicking sound of footsteps came closer, Hibari was surprised and rather annoyed to see that it was Mukuro. He would have been annoyed at anyone for approaching him, but since it was Mukuro, it was a lot worse.

"Is there something on your mind, Hibari Kyoya?" Mukuro asked teasingly as he smirked at the other male.

Hibari frowned at him, but made no attempt at attacking him, since he had promised Reborn not to make a scene. And Hibari Kyoya always keeps his promises… Almost always that will say.

"Don't stand so close to me, herbivore" he replied grumpily "I'll bite you to death".

Mukuro simply chuckled while looking amused.

"I couldn't help but notice you staring at my cute little Chrome before" he stated playfully, making Hibari almost flinch "I don't blame you though. She _does _look very beautiful tonight".

"I don't know what you're talking about" Hibari narrowed his eyes and felt his hand twitch slightly, urging to grab his tonfa and slam it in Mukuro's face "I dislike her almost as much as you".

"Kufufu" Mukuro laughed amusedly "In that case, shall I pretend I haven't figured out that you're the one who helped her yesterday?"

Hibari's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh? She didn't tell you?" he asked.

"She did not" Mukuro said honestly.

"Hmph" Hibari grunted "It doesn't matter either way".

"No, I'm grateful" Mukuro said with a smile on his lips "If there is something I can do in return…"

"Take back the rumor" Hibari replied immediately.

Mukuro blinked.

"What rumor?" he asked confused.

"The one that you've been spreading around" Hibari said, starting to feel irritated. Now he knew where Chrome got her denseness from. Reluctantly, he added quietly: "Concerning my loss…"

"I don't know of such a rumor" Mukuro said bemused.

"What?" Hibari said. Had Reborn lied to him then? What was going on here?

_I need some air to clear my mind_, Hibari thought and started to head towards the exit.

"Hmh?" Mukuro said and looked after him "Where are you going?"

Hibari ignored him. He had no obligation of telling him where he was going, and felt annoyed that Mukuro seemed to believe that he did. He just walked past him and all the other annoying herbivores that were crowding around and out the door.

Outside was calm and quiet, aside from the loud thumping of the music heard through the walls.

Hibari walked up to the railing of the balcony and gazed up at the dark night sky. Just a few stars were twinkling through the dark background, accompanied by hazy clouds and a radiant full moon.

Suddenly, something further down in the garden caught his interest.

A fountain. And by it…

Without realizing why he did it, Hibari made his way down the stairs to the garden and walked across the gravel path and towards the fountain.

"What are you doing out here?" he inquired the silhouette by the edge of the spring.

Chrome flinched a little before slowly turning her head to look at him over her shoulder.

"Ah, Cloud-person" she uttered, calming down upon realizing who it was, though Hibari would have given the opposite effect on practically anyone else. Chrome felt strangely secure in his presence; something that she didn't have when being around most others "I was just getting some air" she replied leisurely.

Hibari just scoffed at her.

"Ah! But you can be here too if you want!" Chrome said hastily, worried that he might think that she _wanted _to be alone and that she wanted him to leave.

Hibari narrowed his eyes at her.

"I wasn't asking for your permission" he stated grudgingly "I'll do what I want".

Chrome blushed, feeling stupid. Of course, he was right. It wasn't like the garden was exclusively for her to use.

Hibari sat down by the edge of the cascade, though he did make sure to sit at least a few feet distance from Chrome. He wouldn't want to risk crowding after all.

A few minutes of silence went by. Only the sound of the water flowing behind them as well as the subdued thud of the music coming from inside was heard.

In the corner of his eye, Hibari glanced over at the younger girl as she silently twirled a finger through the water, forming little circles on the surface.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled to herself as she watched the circles expand before merging with the rest of the water.

He was meaning to ask her to stop constantly interrupting his mind all the time, but he couldn't find a way to say it without making it sound completely ridiculous.

Realizing that she was being watched, Chrome raised her head and looked back at him. She smiled shyly, to which Hibari instantly darted his eyes the other way.

"Uhm… Cloud-person" Chrome began and bit her lower lip nervously "About yesterday… I'm… really grateful for…"

"Don't mention it" he cut her off.

"But I really…" she tried again.

"Why disgrace yourself more than you already have?" Hibari said ominously as her frowned at her disapprovingly "Herbivore…"

Chrome voiced a barely audible 'I'm sorry' and lowered her head.

Once again, Hibari felt that stung of guilt that was the reason that he had helped her the other day. Perhaps this was another one of her abilities? Manipulating people into making them feel guilty.

_So, you thought that you'd be able to fool me? _Hibari thought, content that he had managed to figure out her intentions before she'd make him do something like helping her out again. _Unfortunately, you will be disappointed._

But before he was able to accuse her for attempting to mess with his mind, they were interrupted by a twittering sound that came neither from the fountain nor the stereo.

While Hibari was able to immediately recognize the voice of his yellow pet bird, Chrome seemed confused as to where the chirping was coming from. As she looked up, she saw the bird flying above their heads while singing an, to her, unfamiliar song about Namimori Middle High.

Hibird finished its song and landed on top of Hibari's shoulder.

It proudly puffed up the feathers on its chest before tweeting its master's name.

"So cute" Chrome said and watched the animal in fascination.

Hibari looked at her suspiciously. Of course it was cute. It was much cuter than that owl of hers which Mukuro would occasionally possess, which by the way made it look even less cute. Rather creepy to be honest.

It was not shocking if Chrome felt jealous of him.

Momentary forgetting about his accusation towards her, Hibari held a finger towards the bird and motioned for it to jump onto it. As soon as it did, he held out his hand towards Chrome.

Understanding what he meant, Hibird extended its wings again and willingly fluttered over to Chrome and settled in her lap.

Chrome blinked in confusion as a pair of round eyes looked back up at her expectantly.

Hesitantly she stroked a finger under its chin like she had once seen Hibari do. It seemed to like being patted, judging by the relaxed peep that it uttered.

Chrome looked over at Hibari and smiled. He on the other hand, quickly turned his head away and avoided meeting her gaze.

It didn't upset Chrome though. She was aware of how reluctant he was when it came to show his emotions as well as conversing with others unless he had to. Chrome was a bit the same, except she wasn't reluctant when it came to befriend others, she just wasn't sure _how _to do it.

Or perhaps Hibari didn't know either.

"Is… your arm feeling better?" Chrome asked as she was reminded that he had also been injured.

Hibari frowned, but stubbornly kept his gaze in front of him.

"If you think that I'll appreciate you pitying me, you couldn't be more wrong" he said harshly.

Chrome was a little dazed by his sudden change in behavior. He had seemed rather friendly just a minute ago for allowing her to hold onto his pet bird.

Hibird looked from her to its master and back, moving its head to the side, back and forth, seemingly curious of her.

"Mukuro" it chirped out of nowhere, gaining both Chrome and Hibari's attention.

"Eh?" Chrome said and her cheeks flushed pink "N-no, I'm Chrome".

The bird tilted its head in confusion.

"It's no use" Hibari muttered, feeling quite annoyed that his pet still remembered Mukuro "It will only call for me… or Mukuro".

"Chrome" the animal said suddenly, surprising Hibari.

Chrome's eye widened in astonishment. Then she smiled.

Hibari had never seen her smile so happily. Not even when being around Mukuro or the girls.

While he was feeling a bit uncomfortable over the change in mood, for some reason, it felt rather nice too. How peculiar…

A few minutes went by with Chrome continuing to stroke the yellow animal under its chin, smiling to herself, despite being aware that Hibari was watching her.

Their joint moment was cut short by the appearance of Yamamoto Takeshi, who was out for a walk as he stumbled upon the other two by the fountain.

"Oh! I just wondered where you two were!" he said cheerfully with his hands in the pockets of his black pants. His shirt had been quite carelessly tucked inside his pants and the blue tie was hanging loose around his neck, giving off a more easygoing look than most of the other guests had.

Hibari glared at the newcomer. It was enough to have one other person here already. There was no need for more people to come and crowd around him.

"What do you want, Yamamoto Takeshi?" he inquired brusquely.

"Haha!" Yamamoto chuckled and smiled even wider "Happy as always, aren't you, Hibari?"

Hibari snorted in annoyance.

"Hello" Chrome greeted him and turned her attention from the bird to their fellow guardian.

"Hey, Chrome" Yamamoto replied with a nod. He glanced at her foot and grimaced slightly "How's your foot? I heard you tripped on the street yesterday".

"It's… alright" she said and looked at the white cast that covered her foot "The doctor said it will heal in a few weeks".

"That's good" Yamamoto said and his smile returned. He grabbed the collar of his shirt and tugged at it while heaving a sigh "It's really hot in there! Good thing there was such a nice and quiet place like this here!"

"Well, it _was _a quiet place" Hibari muttered silently. He motioned for his bird to return to him as he stood up.

"Oh?" Yamamoto said surprised "Are you going back inside, Hibari?"

Hibari narrowed his eyes, but it didn't seem to scare the other male one bit.

"What do you think?" he inquired curtly and walked past him "I've endured this hell long enough, so I'm leaving".

And without further notice, he marched out of the garden and disappeared around the corner of the building, not even bothering to say goodbye to the neither Chrome nor Yamamoto.

Yamamoto put his hands on his hips and looked after him until he was completely out of sight. He then turned back to Chrome and tilted his head a little to the side, with an expression that resembled a confused puppy.

"Did I interrupt something?" he wondered.

Chrome quickly shook her head and blushed faintly. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea, like M.M. had.

The Rain Guardian took the liberty of taking over Hibari's seat by the fountain. He stretched his arms towards the sky and let out a long yawn, which was followed by an amused chuckle.

He noticed how the girl was watching him out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh, sorry!" he said quickly "Did you want to be alone?"

"Ah, no!" Chrome hastily waved a hand in front of her face "It's okay".

"Okay" Yamamoto said and grinned. He turned his gaze to the sky to watch the stars. Suddenly, he pointed in front of him and exclaimed: "Look, a shooting star! Make a wish, Chrome!"

"Eh?" Chrome said dumbfounded and looked at where he was pointing "Oh, sure…"

Closing her amethyst eye, Chrome tried to think of something that she was wishing for.

_To become better friends with everyone._

It was the first thing that came to mind, so she might as well wish for that.

She opened her eye again to find Yamamoto looking at her.

"Did you wish for something?" he asked curiously.

"Yes" Chrome replied with a nod "Did you?"

"Sure!" Yamamoto replied happily "To get to know Chrome better".

Chrome's cheeks heated up in embarrassment, and she turned her head the other way so that he wouldn't notice.

"Ah, did I say something wrong?" he asked, leaning forward in an attempt to see her face.

Chrome rapidly shook her head.

"N-no…" she said quietly.

"In that case" Yamamoto continued "Would it be alright with you? If I got to know you better?"

Chrome instantly nodded, which seemed to encourage him. Chrome could practically feel him smile brightly even though she had her back turned to him.

"How about a date?" Yamamoto suggested, which was what truly caught her off guard "As soon as your foot is healed that is?" there was a short pause in which he waited for her to reply. When she didn't, he quickly continued "Nothing serious of course! Let's just go as friends!"

"O-okay" Chrome agreed and nodded again. Going on a date just as friends? She couldn't recall ever hearing of such a thing, but since it was Yamamoto, it might be fun. It would probably be something similar as going with Kyoko and Haru, except Yamamoto was a boy. Obviously, it wouldn't be exactly the same as going out with the girls, but it might still be fun.

Just because he was a boy, it didn't have to mean that they were anything more than friends, right?

"It's a date then!" Yamamoto seemed content, just as his cell phone started to ring in a happy tune, well-suited for his happy-go-lucky personality. He fished up the device from his pocket to answer it "Hello!"

There was a brief pause where Chrome assumed that the caller was talking. She looked back at him, curiosity overcoming the embarrassment.

"Yeah, sure" Yamamoto answered into the receiver "No, it's not a problem. I'll be right there".

He hung up and let the phone slip back into his pocket.

"It was my old man" he explained and stood up straight and stretched his arms once more "I've got to help him with a delivery for tomorrow morning, so I have to go now".

Chrome nodded understandingly.

"I'll see you later then" Yamamoto smiled one last time at her before waving goodbye.

Chrome sighed tiredly. Of course, she liked Yamamoto. She liked him a lot. As a friend…

She couldn't help wondering how M.M. would react when she heard about this, because of course, she would find out eventually. She might misinterpret Yamamoto's friendly intentions as something more serious, just like she had with Hibari.

Speaking of M.M., she was still thinking of a way to bring Chrome and Hibari together, and Chrome knew that very well since M.M. had made no attempts to keep it a secret from her.

Chrome appreciated that she had not brought up the subject with Mukuro or the others, but it may only be a question of time. Mukuro was cunning. He would eventually figure out what she was up to and start questioning her about it.

It wasn't as if Chrome were in love with Hibari. She just admired him, the same way as she admired the other guardians. Only, perhaps just a little more…

* * *

Chapter 4 - finito! I was running out on ideas, so if it sucks, I apologize about that. But wohoo, Varia appeared! They are so awsome :)

Now, for the biggest question: Where did Reborn disappear to? :O (Eh? o.O)

*Cough*... ANYWAYS, reviews are appreciated, like always... :3


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everybody! I'm sorry for being so late with the updating! I've been quite busy, so I haven't had much time for writing! Also, I wasn't satisfied with this chapter so I made so many changes, over and over again. I'm still not completely satisfied. Oh, well, it takes a lot for me to be content about things that I've made, no matter what it is. I blame that on my bad self-confidence.

Anyways, I know that some of you have been very eager about a new chapter, and you have all been so patient! Thank you for that! I really appreciate it!

Gladly, I can inform you that the next chaper is like 70% finished, so I'll try to update sooner next time!

Well, enjoy, I guess!

* * *

Just as Hibari thought that he wouldn't have to deal with any more herbivores, at least for tonight, he was proven wrong. Much to his annoyance, another one of Mukuro's followers called out to him right before he was able to step outside the gates. Judging by her voice, Hibari could tell that it was that red-haired girl who seemed to have an infatuation for Rokudo Mukuro.

For a second, Hibari considered ignoring her which appeared to work at first. But due to her persistency she came running after him in her high heels and stood in his way, forcing him to stop.

Hibari frowned at her. He had no relation to this girl whatsoever, other than common acquaintances in the form of Mukuro and Chrome. He shuddered inwardly for having to recognize Mukuro as some kind of association. Chrome was alright though. He didn't mind her that much, other than the fact that she was so devoted to the male illusionist.

Waiting for her to make her statement of why she had been so eager to speak to him, Hibari crossed his arms and tapped his fingers.

M.M. made an expression remotely similar to aversion as she opening her mouth to speak.

"I can't believe I'm doing this" she muttered to herself, but it didn't go unheard by Hibari.

"Do what?" he inquired.

M.M. wrinkled her nose slightly as she looked at him before pulling a hand through her short hair, a gesture that only appeared to increase Hibari's annoyance with her.

"Chrome" she began, at which Hibari raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

Why she would even want to talk about that girl with him was beyond his comprehension. Whatever the reason was, he did have a bad feeling about it though.

"Well, not that it's any of my business" M.M. continued, and suddenly her voice had taken on a more casual tone "But do you like her?"

_What?_

That wasn't exactly what he had expected her to say. He was quite surprised, but he didn't show it. He merely narrowed his eyes at her without answering. Why _would_ he answer such a ridiculous question anyway? Since he had no obligation to do so, he wasn't going to.

Snorting at her, he walked past her while uttering a quiet 'idiot', barely loud enough for her to hear.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then" M.M. said and brushed off some imperceptible dust from the skirt of her golden yellow dress.

Hibari stopped in his tracks. Perhaps not answering had given the wrong message. Well, it was either that, or this girl was just really stupid for making such assumptions.

Obviously, of course he didn't _like _Chrome Dokuro. He simply just tolerated her presence more than he did with other people. He'd admit that she was a kind and innocent creature. Maybe more than what was good for her. However, there were no feelings involved whatsoever.

"I don't…" Hibari started. He paused to close his eyes and take a deep breathe to calm himself from launching at her. The promise to Reborn was still present somewhere in the back in his mind, and he would follow it… to a certain extent. But if this girl were to continue to insist that he had any kind of feelings towards Chrome, he may not be able to hold himself back. Opening his eyes again to see the redhead staring stupidly at him, he finished: "…like her".

M.M. looked unconvinced. As a matter of fact, now she was even more convinced that there was something going on.

"You hesitated" she stated and small, impish smile came over her features "Hesitation often means that you are not telling the truth, did you know that?"

"Nosiness often means that you are about to be bitten to death" was Hibari's reply. He didn't care that she was a girl. If trying to meddle in his business, one was likely to get hurt. He added sarcastically: "Did you know that?"

M.M. pouted, but took a step back, just in case he might actually charge at her.

"I'm just trying to help" she said irritated.

"Do I look stupid to you?" Hibari asked, sounding at least as irritated as her "You only want her out of the way so that you can have Mukuro to yourself".

M.M.'s eyes widened and she looked at him with a how-did-you-know-look.

However, she didn't get the time to reply as another person showed up. Once again, it was Yamamoto Takeshi, who appeared to also be leaving. He hummed at an unfamiliar tune, but stopped as soon as he noticed them by the gates.

"Oh! You're still here, Hibari?" he asked.

"As you can see" Hibari replied and eyed the other male with narrowed eyes. Why all these herbivores kept crowding around him, he had no idea. And why Yamamoto appeared to show up everywhere he went, he wasn't sure of either. Surely, one might think that he was following him.

"I see!" Yamamoto gave him a cheeky smile "Sorry if I interrupted you and Chrome earlier".

"You didn't" Hibari replied immediately. Just mentioning him and Chrome in the same sentence appeared to interest M.M. She turned to Yamamoto, looking curious.

"Interrupted?" she repeated.

"Hmm?" Yamamoto said and looked at her surprised "Yeah, they were by the fountain in the garden just a few minutes ago. I suppose that I interrupted, but Chrome said that I didn't, so…"

M.M. smirked mischievously. And of course, Hibari saw it.

"Don't get any weird thoughts, herbivore" he reprimanded her threateningly. He spun around and started walking "I'm leaving".

"Haha!" Yamamoto laughed suddenly, completely clueless about the situation, and began to walk as well "I've got some things to do, so I better get going too!"

He waved at M.M. and began to leave while humming that melody again.

M.M. was left behind, looking after them as they disappeared in different directions into the dark.

It had already gotten very late. It should be time for Kokuyo-gang to head home as well soon.

"We're leaving now, M.M." Mukuro's voice said suddenly behind her, almost making her jump.

She turned around to see him, Ken, Chikusa and Chrome a few feet away. She hadn't even heard them coming.

M.M. walked up to them and surprisingly, she walked directly over to Chrome.

"You guys can go ahead" she waved her hand at them.

"What are you gonna do, pyon?" Ken asked suspiciously with his hands in his pockets.

"What?" M.M. said and glared at him "Is it forbidden for two _friends _to have a conversation without having a bunch of people listening?" she stressed the word 'friends', which earned her a frightened look from Chrome.

Mukuro looked at Chrome in concern, but she just gave him a nod, saying that it was alright.

"What's up with her, pyon?" Ken mumbled as he and the other males started to walk ahead "Really, she's acting weird".

"Who knows?" Mukuro shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't think they served any alcohol though" Chikusa said apathetically.

**Sunday, 12:14 p.m.**

"15…16…17…" Chrome counted quietly as she discovered more cracks in the room. The concrete wall and the ceiling were faulty to say the least. The floor wasn't in perfect shape either, but it was the giant cracks in the walls and ceiling that were of greatest concern. Not because it looked bad, but rather because it could easily fall in any day and bury the disabled Chrome in the rubble "18…"

A knock on the door interrupted Chrome's concentration. She didn't mind though. It wasn't very fun lying in bed all day, so she appreciated a visitor, even if it was Ken whom had come to yell at her for whatever reason, or M.M. to ask her how she should proceed with the matter regarding Hibari. Ever since M.M. had got wind of Yamamoto asking Chrome out, the situation had apparently turned more problematic for her. It had by now been three days since Chrome had last seen her, and to tell the truth, she was really worried about what kind of crazy idea the redhead might come up with.

Expecting it to be Mukuro outside the room, since he was the one who'd usually come by to check on her, Chrome straightened her back before asking the visitor to come in.

However, it was not Mukuro as she had thought. Instead, she was surprised to see Gokudera Hayato by the entrance, holding a plastic bag in his hand.

Gokudera looked slightly annoyed, but he still gave her a short nod as some kind of greeting.

"Here" he muttered and dropped the bag next to her on the bed "It's food. Make sure to eat it".

Chrome blinked in confusion. Did he seem even grumpier than usual? He was also very taciturn, which wasn't really like him.

Suddenly remembering that he was probably an even worse cook than herself, she wondered if it was safe to eat, whatever it was that was in the bag.

Noticing the doubtful expression on her face, Gokudera rolled his eyes.

"No, I didn't make it" he assured her with a twitch of his eyebrow. He was aware of how badly he cooked, and wouldn't force someone to eat something that he had made "And neither did my sister, so it is safe to eat".

Chrome nodded hesitantly and brought out a wooden box of the bag.

"It's from Yamamoto" Gokudera informed her and crossed his arms over his chest.

Chrome's eye widened before looking up at him dumbfounded.

"Yamamoto… Takeshi?" she asked quietly.

"Who else?" Gokudera frowned.

"Then… why did _you _bring it to me?" Chrome couldn't help asking. Surely, she appreciated it, but from what she had come to understand about him, he wouldn't follow anyone's order besides Tsuna and possibly Reborn. If Yamamoto asked him, he most definitely wouldn't agree to it.

"It's a long story" the Storm Guardian replied dismissively "Anyways, I better leave. I don't like this place" he glanced around the room with his eyebrows furrowed. He had too many bad memories from a certain incident that had taken place here, so he didn't want to stick around for too long. Not to mention that he was still upset with Mukuro for insulting him in front of Tsuna as well as several other people at the party "No offence, but with those guys around, I feel even more uneasy".

Chrome nodded. It was understandable. Mukuro had mentioned the events that had taken place in this very building between the Kokuyo gang and Tsuna and co before Chrome had entered the picture.

Though Chrome had inwardly thought that what Mukuro had done had been wrong, it hadn't made her admire him any less. If anything, it had made her respect Tsuna and his friends even more. Hibari too.

With one last glance at Chrome, which may have held a message that Chrome couldn't quite intercept, Gokudera left the room.

For a few moments, Chrome was staring at the door, as if expecting him to reappear to explain what he had meant with that indecipherable look.

But after realizing that he wasn't coming back, Chrome turned her attention to the gift that Gokudera had brought to her on Yamamoto request.

She gingerly opened the small box, and was instantly greeted by a delicious smell that filled the room. Not very unexpectedly, it was sushi.

Chrome noticed that the food didn't look as professional as it could have, yet there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. She received an explanation for this in the form of a small note, saying that Yamamoto had made it without any help from his father, which was why it looked a bit funny. He had wanted to make it more personal apparently.

Such a gentlemanly act made Chrome blush in embarrassment. She was not used to these kinds of things, so she was unsure if he was just being nice or if this was his way of showing his affection towards her.

If Yamamoto now did care for her in a more affectionate way, which may have been why he had asked her out before, Chrome was uncertain if she felt the same. But there was no denying that she was flattered by his actions.

Same thing could not be said with Hibari. His actions towards her were nowhere near affectionate. Despite their little conversation by the fountain at the party, Hibari rarely spoke to Chrome when they'd meet on the street. But whenever he did, it was usually a rude comment about how she standing in his way or being an eyesore.

Truth to be told, he spoke more with the other guardians, including Mukuro, though it wasn't very often either. It made Chrome a bit upset that he seemed to think so lowly of her that she wasn't even worth talking to. However, she'd push her emotions aside while convincing herself that Hibari had all the reasons in the world to ignore her. She wasn't worth mentioning anyway.

Chrome put the palm of her hands together as if praying and whispered a quiet 'itadakimasu'. While munching on the food, Chrome began to wonder where her place in the Vongola Family was now that Mukuro was free. With someone as strong as him, she knew that she wasn't needed. But of course, unless Mukuro or Tsuna himself told her that she was no longer of any use to the family, she would stick around, though she wasn't sure if she could any longer be considered a guardian.

Thoughts like these had appeared quite frequently in her mind ever since Mukuro had been released from Vindicare Prison.

Obviously, Chrome hadn't shared her worries with Mukuro or anyone else. She was aware of what they would all say if she did. She could practically hear Mukuro's voice in her head, laughing at her stupidity before telling her not to worry about such insignificant matters.

And when it came to Tsuna, she could imagine what he would say as well. He'd almost panic while assuring her that she was definitely a part of the family and that she was very much needed.

But if Chrome was really considered important to them, she didn't know.

There was always Mukurou though, the clever and loyal box weapon of her and Mukuro's. But since he was usually in Mukuro's possession, he couldn't provide much comfort to her either.

It was alright though. Ever since she was little, Chrome had been used to keep her thoughts to herself since her parents had not been interested in knowing what was on her mind. Chrome had never trusted them enough to confide her thoughts anyway.

Completely engrossed in thoughts, Chrome failed to notice that the food had run out. Pursing her lips, she felt disappointed in herself for being unable to savor the taste of the meal that Yamamoto had worked so hard on making for her.

She neatly placed the chopsticks back in the now empty box before placing it on the nightstand. Other than a surprise visit from Gokudera and an already devoured gift from Yamamoto, Chrome was sure that this day would be long and uneventful, boring to be frank. Or that was until a light knock was heard on her bedroom window from the outside.

**Wednesday, 11:58 p.m.**

It was strange how different the atmosphere of Namimori Junior High seemed during class compared to during lunch time. While the students were in their classrooms, the corridors remained quiet and almost eerie. Hibari preferred it that way though. It was harder to keep the students in order when they spread out in small groups across the school yard and inside the building.

Even though he hated to admit it, but his subordinates in the committee did come in handy when it came to keeping track on the students.

Any minute now, almost every herbivore would come gushing out of their classrooms in order to get the best spots to eat their homemade meals, Hibari thought.

He knew all too well already what the subject of their discussions would be. The girls would commend each other's bentos, saying how cute it looked and how it was almost a shame to eat it.

How a ball of rice and a pickled cucumber could be considered cute, was beyond Hibari's understanding. Sure, rabbits are cute. Puppies are cute. He could agree to that. But food is a different matter. Food is not meant to be gawked and squealed at, simply because it is _not_ cute.

The boys would not bother so much about each other's lunchboxes. They would possibly laugh at what a strange shape someone's onigiri had, but that would be about it.

After 'inspecting' the other's lunches, the girls would move on to discussing which the prettiest boys in school were. Yamamoto Takeshi and Gokudera Hayato's names would be mentioned quite often. Though Kusakabe had once stated that Hibari's name had been brought up, something that had given Hibari a sickening feeling to his stomach. The worst thing that could possibly happen would be if they'd come crowding around him. Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

If they weren't discussing the appearances of the opposite sex, the girls would talk about more food, sweets or cakes. It seemed as though there was no end to their stomachs.

And while Hibari had assumed that he had quite a perception of what the boys were usually talking about amongst each other, he was in for a surprise when Chrome Dokuro's name was brought up.

Supposedly, it hadn't been meant for him to hear their discussion. But it seemed as though they hadn't discovered that Hibari was also up on the roof.

Usually, Hibari wouldn't have bothered and simply threatened to bite them to death unless they leaved him alone. But he had to admit that he was quite interested this time.

"You did what?" Sawada Tsunayoshi exclaimed and nearly dropped the bento that his dear mother had made for him. He managed to get a grip of it before it hit the ground however.

"Haha!" Yamamoto Takeshi laughed cheerfully "I asked her out on a date!"

"Yes, you said that" Tsuna said and carefully placed his lunch back on the ground, just in case "But, Yamamoto! What about…" he glanced around and lowered his voice before continuing "What about Mukuro? When he finds out, he might…"

"I'll deal with that when the time comes" Yamamoto just smiled, making Tsuna wonder if he had forgotten what kind of person Mukuro actually was "You don't have to worry, Tsuna!"

"I see" Gokudera Hayato said thoughtfully "So that's why you made the sushi for Chrome".

"Heh, I suppose" Yamamoto chuckled and started eating.

Confused, Tsuna looked over at Sasagawa Ryohei who had joined them for lunch while heading towards the roof. The boxer seemed to be deep in thought, contemplating about what to say.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and he practically flew up from the ground.

"I've got it now to the extreme!" he shouted and clenched his fists "If Mukuro finds out, Yamamoto could be in extreme danger!"

"It took you five minutes to realize that?" Gokudera muttered. He wasn't very surprised though. Ryohei wasn't the sharpest one of the four after all.

"Well…" Tsuna was hesitant about what to say. One part of him was very happy for Yamamoto, while another was worried about how Mukuro would react. The illusionist could be quite overprotective of the girl whose body he had occasionally borrowed while imprisoned "Chrome is a great girl and all, but… Uhm… Do you mind if I ask why?"

The swordsman pondered over the question for a few seconds before grinning.

"Because I like her!" he confessed simply.

"What do you like about her?" Gokudera couldn't help asking. He hadn't meant to sound rude, but the way he said it made it sound as if he was wondering whatever there _was_ to like about her.

"I like everything" Yamamoto replied and suddenly looked a little embarrassed. His cheeks flushed slightly, something that was a very rare sight.

"Since when?" Tsuna asked. Clearly, he should have noticed when Yamamoto started to develop feelings for Chrome, since he had his super-intuition and all.

"Hmh…" Yamamoto thought back of his memories with Chrome, but he couldn't quite specify when the affection had begun "I guess… I always liked her".

"Eh? Always?" Tsuna repeated.

"Ever since her battle with Mammon?" Gokudera inquired surprised.

Yamamoto just smiled and gave a small shrug of his shoulder.

"That was almost two years ago!" Gokudera stated "With the time we spent in the future, it's nearly two and a half!"

"Haha? Really?" Yamamoto laughed and scratched the back of his head "It's been that long? I never noticed!"

"Anyways, Yamamoto" Tsuna said worryingly. He still wasn't sure if Yamamoto was aware of what he was getting himself into. On the other hand, Mukuro was very unpredictable, so he might accept it better than they'd think "As long as you are careful, then it's alright… I guess".

"I'll be careful!" Yamamoto assured him.

"Class is about to start soon" Gokudera glanced at the clock on the wall "Let's hurry up and eat".

While Tsuna and the rest headed back to their classrooms, Hibari remained on the roof, pondering over the conversation that he had just heard.

He had completely disagreed with them all. What was the point in concealing your intentions because of fear of how Mukuro would react? If it was he who liked Chrome, Hibari would make it as clear as possible, simply to piss Mukuro off. That way, he would be likely to get another chance at fighting him.

A voice was calling for him.

Hibari looked to his left to see his little pet bird hover in his direction. Due to the head-wind, the small bird had quite a hard time getting to its master. Though occasionally being thrown backwards, Hibird stubbornly managed to reach his goal.

Hibari held out his hand and let the exhausted bird land on his finger.

"Where were you?" Hibari asked. He hadn't seen the bird since yesterday. It appeared as though Hibird had left in the middle of the night while Hibari was still asleep.

The bird tilted its head and it took a while before it answered.

"Chrome" it replied after a while.

Hibari raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Was the bird meaning to say that it had gone to Kokuyo Land to pay Chrome a visit?

Before he could ask any further however, another certain someone appeared in front of him.

"Ciaossu, Hibari" Reborn greeted and adjusted his black fedora on his head "So you did come to the party after all".

The baby came here again to speak to him about the stupid party. Déjà vu?

Irritated, Hibari snorted at the arcobaleno. Why did he even have to remind him of it?

"You left rather quickly" Hibari commented.

"I had some important matters to deal with" Reborn said casually "But I came back after you had already left".

"Hmph!" Hibari muttered.

"Well, everything went according to plan" Reborn snickered mischievously, earning an inquiring look from the prefect "I only had to mention Mukuro, and you'd come running like a little puppy".

"Talk more clearly, baby" Hibari said bored "I don't understand what you're saying".

Reborn smiled playfully.

"To think that such a simple lie was enough to make you attend the party…" the arcobaleno said and smirked at Hibari "You're quite the child, Hibari Kyoya".

Realizing what he meant, Hibari immediately got to his feet and attacked Reborn with his tonfa.

Expecting him to react that way, Reborn easily avoided getting hit. He jumped up onto the fence and looked back down at Hibari.

"You really do wish to die, don't you?" Hibari inquired.

"Not particularly" Reborn answered and took Leon from the edge of his hat "I've got some business to attend to, so I've got to go".

Hibari glared angrily at him. Right now, he really didn't care that Reborn was a child. To him, he was a demon in the body of a child. And Hibari really wanted to destroy that demon.

"Another thing" Reborn said suddenly "You might want to consider if you are really okay with Yamamoto dating Chrome".

"What?" Hibari asked, only slightly shocked "I don't care what those herbivores do on their free time".

"Is that so?" Reborn said, not sounding overly convinced "In that case, everything is alright, huh?"

And with that, Reborn jumped of the roof, using Leon as a parachute to safely land on the ground.

Frustrated, and humiliated, Hibari turned his back to the fence and went back inside to vent off his anger by finding a couple of students to bite to death.

* * *

Yey! I had predicted that Mukuro would be released (lol, many others probably did too ;D).

Next chapter will start off with my version of Hibari's childhood, since Amano hasn't mentioned anything of it, and his road to becoming who he is today (remember, I've only made it up, it didn't really happen).

See you again next time!


	6. Chapter 6

Yo-ho! I'm uploading chapter 6 today! It's a bit longer than the previous ones, I think, as will the next chapter be too (I'm already done with it, but I want to wait for a while before uploading it)! I'm glad to see that people are still following this story! If it weren't for all of you, I wouldn't even be updating in the first place! Thank you! :D

The day after tomorrow, school will start again, so I may have less time to write and update here, but I'll try to work on it during my free time! I'm done with my English courses, which feels a bit sad actually. English has always been one of my favorite subjects, so it will feel a bit weird not to do any English work.

Anyways! I suppose that you all have read the latest chapter already! Chapter 349, where *spoiler, spoiler* Mukuro kicks Chrome out of the gang *spoiler, spoiler*.

I have to say that I was surprised to see that that chapter was a bit similar to what I had written. My chapter 6 and 7 was originally one chapter that I finished about a week ago but has been writing for... hm... maybe a month or so. You may notice some similarities here, so if you do, remember that I didn't write this yesterday. It is pure coincidence if it is similar to the manga. Of course, it's not _the same_ as the manga, just a few similarities... maybe. I'll let you be the judge of that.

Oh, right! The last part of this chapter, you will notice which, I made after reading the chapters about Kokuyo and Varia recruiting Fran, so that I didn't quite come up with myself.

* * *

For as long as he could remember, Hibari Kyoya had never needed anyone. Even as a child, he had been very independent and his mother hadn't even been allowed to hug him. His father hadn't got to go to baseball games with his son as he had been looking forward to.

Hibari could still remember hearing his mother cry in the night because he had rejected her motherly love. She would lament to her husband over how she had failed as a mother to have her son grow wary and spiteful towards loving emotions. She blamed herself for having done something wrong to make him hate her; something Hibari's father had tried to repetitively explain wasn't true.

However, Hibari's dislike towards them and others around him grew, for reasons no one could quite explain, not even Hibari himself. He simply didn't like when people got too close to him, whether it was mentally or physically.

Even as a small child, before he could even speak properly, he would refuse to play with the other children and always keep to himself. Also, he'd find it much more amusing to wreck the toys than playing with them.

At the age of 9, Hibari would often get himself into fights, usually with children 4 or 5 years older than him, to which Hibari often took the initiative for the fight. Afterwards Hibari would always have an excuse for attacking another student, but the reason was often ridiculously absurd, like 'He gave me a weird look', 'He was standing in my way and refused to move', or even 'He asked for it, literally'.

This often caused problems for Hibari, upsetting his mother and infuriating his father. But Hibari didn't care if they cried or yelled at him. He never regretted doing the things he did, so while being scolded by his father, Hibari would remain silent and impassive until the man had calmed down. It didn't matter if they got angry at him since he'd leave this place and these people that called themselves his parents and start over on his own someday. Someday soon.

So no, he was not the son that they had wished for.

At the age of 14, Hibari was attending Namimori Junior High. Unlike his previous school, this school was lying in a peaceful area that Hibari would come to like. Within short, Hibari had grown fond of the school and actually enjoyed being there, as long as the students stayed away from him.

He'd stay behind after school hours, patrolling the corridors or enjoying the view from the roof. He deemed this enough reason for him not to return home until late in the evening. He'd also leave early in the morning in order to not have to speak with his parents.

In the end, after 15 years of struggling, Hibari's parents grew tired of trying to connect with him. Despite their efforts, the boy wouldn't change.

They bought him an apartment and provided him enough money to make a living.

Though glad that he could finally live on his own, Hibari didn't want their charity. But since he had no job to earn money from, he had had no choice but to accept it, yet he was determined to pay back every single penny as soon as possible.

At the end of his second year, Hibari gathering a gang of delinquents to create the feared and infamous Disciplinary Committee, with Kusakabe Tetsuya working as his trusted right-hand. This way, Hibari was able to collect enough money to pay his parents back before cutting any connection that he still had with them. After graduating, he remained at the school along with his Committee, believing that there was no one worthy to take over after him.

Today, it had been a long time since Hibari Kyoya had last seen or spoken to the people who had given birth to him, yet he felt no guilt for cutting them out of his life.

Oh, that's right. Not to forget something that had made quite an impact on his life, though not necessarily positive, there was this Mafia family called Vongola that had recruited him about two years ago, despite him never agreeing on being a part of their little group. Hence, he'd usually stay in the background and not socialize with the other members. Unless they needed to be punished for doing something that bothered him or just had the bad luck of standing in the way of his rage.

Never had he thought that he would actually allow himself to associate with one of them…

It started on an average day in October. It was a day like any other day, with Hibari doing his daily chores at Namimori Junior High as the leader of the Disciplinary Committee.

This morning, one thing was different though.

As Hibari was passing by the playgrounds on his way to school, he noticed a familiar silhouette by the swings. He took a mental note of who it was, but other than that, he didn't take much more notice and simply walked by.

A few hours later, as Hibari was heading home, he once again passed by the playgrounds. He noticed that the person, or more accurately, the girl, by the swings was still there, surprisingly. If she had been there all along, then something had got to have happened. She was just sitting there on the swing, making circles in the sand with her toes. Despite it being October, she was only wearing her oh-so-short khaki uniform. Was Mukuro not concerned about her health at all? If she was sick, what use would he have of her?

Now, Hibari was not one to concern himself with others problems, but for some reason, his feet suddenly led him towards the girl, and before he knew it, he was standing in front of her.

The girl flinched, but it was barely noticeable. She kept her gaze at the ground, trying to block him out.

"Chrome Dokuro" was Hibari's short greeting. He hadn't really spoken to her since that party last month. Her foot seemed to have healed.

Chrome didn't answer. She turned her head to her right, allowing Hibari to see her face.

It wasn't hard to see that she was upset about something. A reddened eye and wet cheeks was enough to realize that she had been crying.

"I'm fine" she told him after a while.

"I didn't ask if you were fine" Hibari said abruptly. He wasn't worried about her. Had he been Sawada Tsunayoshi, he probably would have been. But, since he wasn't…

Chrome sobbed and wiped away a few tears that had managed to slip by.

"I left him" she whispered suddenly. He hadn't even asked her why she was crying, yet she insisted on telling him what had upset her. Perhaps she didn't have anyone else to talk to "For a while".

Hibari raised an eyebrow. She had made it sound as if she had just ditched her boyfriend, but despite not caring for or being involved with her personal life, Hibari was quite sure that she had not been in a relationship with someone, unless she had already hooked up with Yamamoto. But he couldn't imagine Yamamoto ever hurting her feelings. From what he had heard from that conversation three weeks ago, Yamamoto had seemed quite infatuated with her.

The only person he could think of…

"Mukuro?" he inquired. Actually, when he thought about it, it hadn't been very hard to figure out. Mukuro was the only person that he could think of that would be able to upset Chrome this much, as he was the only person who could make her truly happy. But what had he done to make her leave him?

Chrome nodded as she bit her lower lip, holding back more tears.

"I have to go back, but not now" she said.

Hibari just looked at her. He understood what she meant. She had two reasons for going back:

First, she wouldn't mentally be able to survive on her own, because Mukuro meant so much to her.

Second, she wouldn't physically be able to survive on her own, because she needed Mukuro to keep her illusionary organs intact. If she left him, he might just let her die.

The gruesome thing was that Chrome herself was very much aware of it. If she were to betray his trust, he wouldn't feel any guilt about letting her die. It might not even count as killing, since Chrome should already have been dead.

Despite all this, Chrome was incredibly devoted when it came to Mukuro. More than anyone Hibari had even known.

Though he couldn't quite understand how anyone could get this upset about something, no matter what reason. But on the other hand, in his opinion, the girl was mentally weak. She was like a vulnerable little nestling, unable to survive without the protection of its parents.

And it was true. Without Mukuro's powers, she _would_ die, literally.

"Why are you telling me this? I can't see how any of this concerns me".

Chrome gulped and focused her gaze at a spot somewhere to her right.

"I thought that…"she began hesitantly, careful with how she formulated her words "I mean… I can't go back… Not yet…" she paused and tried to move her body into a more comfortable position on the swing. Sitting still for this many hours really did take its toll on one's body "Uhm… I'm… looking for somewhere to stay, but…"

_Figures._

Hibari narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He had a strange feeling about what she was going to say, or rather, ask. He was surprised though. He never would have thought that she'd actually _dare _to ask him of all people. No one else that he knew would even consider it.

"So, you're asking _me_ to take you in? Like a parasite, you thought that you might live of me?" Hibari questioned calmly, yet his words were spiteful.

"If that is alright with you…" Chrome replied innocently, failing to realize the meaning behind his words. She really was naïve.

"Why me?" he asked immediately. There were a lot of people that would be more than willing to help her out in this kind of situation. And Hibari was not one of them.

"Because I…" Chrome said hesitantly "I've thought of asking someone else. But I didn't want to bother them when they all seemed so busy".

She had gone to see a few others earlier. Tsuna, Kyoko, Haru… But it had appeared as though they all had a big test coming up, and she didn't want to get in their way.

Especially not poor Tsuna who had had to study while being smacked on the back of his head by his tutor each time he got a question wrong, babysit Lambo and I-pin, and also try to keep Bianchi away from the kitchen, all at the same time.

"But it is alright to bother me then?" Hibari said sarcastically "Because I have nothing to do anyway. Is that it?"

Chrome blushed embarrassed. Of course, that wasn't what she had meant.

"N-no, I didn't mean…" she mumbled and turned her gaze back at her feet.

Hibari sighed tiredly. He regretted now ever approaching Chrome, since now he was stuck in this conversation were he had to listen to her feeling sorry for herself. And he wasn't going to console her no matter what. Definitely not. Hibari's way of thinking was that every person should deal with their own problems instead of seeking sympathy from others. At least, that was what he did. Then, of course, you could always take out your anger on others physically, but that was another matter.

"I can do house chores" Chrome tried again, regaining Hibari's attention "I can clean… and do the dishes… and take care of the laundry and… anything else".

Now, Hibari had to admit that he was starting to get a little more interested. If Chrome could do the house chores, then allowing her to stay with him may not be a… terrible idea.

Give and you shall receive. Wasn't it something like that?

Though that wasn't necessarily true to Hibari, because when it came to him, he'd take what he'd want without a second's thought of giving anything in return.

This case was different however. He couldn't forcibly take someone's 'services' and make them work for him. That would be considered… slavery, right? And despite what people might think, Hibari was very much against oppressing people. He wasn't even forcing his subordinates in the committee to follow him. They were staying out of their own free will. Kusakabe if anyone was a prime example of that.

Glancing at the younger girl in front of him, Hibari realized that Chrome wasn't going to give up persuading him _that _easily.

Well, why not give her a chance?

Besides, he found it quite difficult to resist her plead when she gazed at him with innocent puppy eyes, or eye. She sure was good at persuading. Or perhaps this was once again some kind of trick of hers that she was playing on his mind? Just like before.

Chrome made sure to walk a few steps behind Hibari, just in case he might snap at her for being too close. It was also because she was still feeling depressed about Mukuro and she didn't want Hibari to see her, as he would describe it, pitiful face, if she walked right next to him.

After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived at a high-rise building. Hibari stopped and looked up at building, waiting for Chrome to catch up.

So, this was where he lived? Well, surely he couldn't be living at the school.

Hibari went inside. Apparently the elevator was currently broken, so they had to walk nine stairs. Nine very long stairs. By the time they reached the tenth floor, Chrome was panting heavily. Hibari seemed unaffected, making Chrome contemplate if he was some kind of robot, or if she simply lacked condition. She could always use the excuse that she didn't have real organs.

Hibari approached, what seemed to be the only door of the floor and unlocked it.

As Hibari was about to notice, Chrome would have occasional fits of crying when one was least expecting it. Eventually Hibari came to the conclusion that the reason was that she was unable to handle things that reminded her of Mukuro. And it was simple things really.

For example, on the TV there was a commercial with a person who Chrome thought looked remotely similar to Mukuro, besides the hair and red eye of course. To make things even worse, the commercial was about the new and refreshing taste of a popular juice brand, which ironically was pineapple.

Though Hibari did find it quite humorous, he held himself back from saying it out loud, seeing how Chrome was sobbing quietly in the corner of the sofa.

No, he wasn't completely heartless. At least not _always_.

For the first couple of days, Chrome stayed in the apartment, unwilling to go outside, despite Hibari insisting otherwise. After a while, he stopped trying to convince her and let her do as she liked, as long as it didn't affect him.

But whenever Hibari saw her sitting on the couch, hugging her knees and her forehead buried against them, he had this uncomfortable and unfamiliar feeling. He couldn't help but wonder what on earth Mukuro could have done to make the person who looked up to him and respected him the most this miserable. He'd better have a damn good excuse for doing it.

While he could sometimes hear her crying in the middle of the night, she did the house chores as promised. At least the apartment was cleaned and the dishes had been done by the time Hibari returned home from school, so he could only assume that she did it while he was away.

Most of the time, she stayed out of his way, so he barely noticed her presence anyways.

Though she seemed quite depressed, whenever Hibari entered the room, she would smile, even though he wasn't sure if it was genuine or not.

Even if he came home late in the evening, she'd patiently sit up and wait for the sound of him fiddling with the many keys on his keychain, followed by the sound of the door being unlocked.

Hibari may not have known it, but Chrome liked to have him around. She felt lonely by herself, but she was not brave enough to ask him to spend more time at home instead at school.

She wasn't selfish enough to request such a thing from him either.

This was one of those days when Hibari arrived late to find Chrome still up, waiting for him by the kitchen table. The first two or three times, he had been surprised by this, but by now he had already gotten used to it. She had been here for almost two weeks, and for the past seven days, she had insistently stayed awake until he had returned home.

Hibari never understood the meaning of this action. It wasn't as if she would gain anything from him by doing it. He definitely hoped that she wasn't expecting something from him.

Hibari acknowledged her presence with a quick glance, noticing that she had been crying again recently before marching past her. There was something different about her today. She didn't smile when he entered the room like she usually did, or even say 'welcome back'.

Her reddened eyes were staring at the floor in front of her feet, as if she was in some sort of trance.

Hibari stopped and turned his head towards her.

"You look even more pathetic when you do it like that" Hibari commented, not bothering to ask if something happened. He never concerned himself with other people anyway.

Chrome's gaze slowly lifted towards his face. She looked confused.

"Being depressed" he explained. If she had to cry, then she should do it quickly and get back to normal as soon as possible. Not just sit on a chair, pondering over whatever it was that was bothering her. Or at least, she should have dealt with the problem immediately.

Though the words were anything but comforting, what Hibari meant was that if he had to choose, he would rather see her greeting him with a smile as he got back home than the miserable one she had right now.

He wasn't sure why. Usually, he wouldn't have cared.

Grunting, he was just about to head towards his bedroom when Chrome's quiet voice spoke up.

"I…" she began, holding back a sob "I went back to Kokuyo Land today".

Though he was a bit surprised by this, since after all, she hadn't stepped outside for almost two weeks, Hibari didn't reply.

"But Mukuro-sama… Ken and Chikusa…" Chrome continued slowly "They weren't there anymore…"

This new information perked Hibari's interest and he couldn't help asking about it.

"What do you mean, not there?" he inquired, looking at her suspiciously.

Chrome tugged at the hem of her olive skirt nervously.

"They're gone" she explained as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Have you considered the fact that they may only be temporarily out?" Hibari asked, annoyed for having to ask something so obvious.

Chrome hesitantly opened her hands to reveal a wrinkled piece of paper. She unfolded it as much as she could and handed it to Hibari.

It was a letter apparently, addressed to Chrome from Mukuro.

It explained that he and the other two had left town for an unknown amount of time. He said that he was sorry about what he had done towards Chrome and that he hoped that she could forgive him someday. M.M. was mentioned as well. Something about hurting her feelings.

It said that he and the other two, namely Ken and Chikusa (which Hibari never seemed to remember), had gone to Europe to search for someone and hopefully bring them back, but no name had been mentioned. They would be back soon enough, apparently. Yet he hadn't said whether it would be in three weeks or three months or anything.

Maybe he was deliberately staying away for a longer time than necessarily, just to give Chrome some space. Somewhere in the text, Mukuro had asked Chrome to go live with a friend, since he didn't want her to be all by herself.

So was that what he, Hibari, was to Chrome? A friend? Not in this life, that's for sure.

After reading through the letter, Hibari raised an eyebrow. He never would have thought that Mukuro could be so sentimental. But, this was _Mukuro _after all. No one really understood how he worked.

"What did he do to you?" he said casually, not a hint of worry in his voice. It barely even sounded like a question at all. He just needed some kind of insight of the problem to understand what the letter meant.

Chrome lowered her head to hide the blush on her face. She didn't answer right away. She wasn't sure how much she could tell him, or how much she _wanted _to tell him. To be honest, she never shared her problems with anyone other than Mukuro. But now that he was probably the main issue of the problem, as well as missing, she couldn't talk to him about it.

Well, it wasn't as if Hibari was going to tattle on her among the other members in the Disciplinary Committee, right? She was quite sure that it would be okay to tell him.

Chrome inhaled deeply before speaking.

"Mukuro-sama…" she said slowly "Mukuro-sama…"

Hibari's eyebrow twitched, like it used to do when he was getting impatient.

"Two weeks ago…" the girl tried again "After I had been with Yamamoto-san …" she paused and closed her eyes, remembering that day two weeks ago when she returned to Kokuyo Land after saying goodbye to Yamamoto.

_Flashback_

_The hallway was quiet and eerie as Chrome entered through the front door. It was dark, but not dark enough not to see where she was going. She stepped over some rubble on the floor and instinctively entered the living room, figuring that that's where everyone would be. If she remembered correctly, M.M. was returning today, and for some reason, she felt both happy and frightened by it, thinking that M.M. might have come up with some strategy involving Chrome, Hibari and by now, Yamamoto._

_She did find Ken and Chikusa in here. Chikusa looked at her as she came in, but didn't really say anything. Ken on the other hand, looked up from the game console he was holding to frown at her, sputtering a rude comment about her being stupid for being away for so long._

_Chrome was already used to the insults, so she didn't really take it to heart. Mukuro even used to say that Ken was wrong, that Chrome wasn't stupid, so she had to believe him._

_She asked for Mukuro, to which Chikusa replied that he was upstairs._

_Since she couldn't find him in the theater, Chrome went to his bedroom and knocked on the door. But there was no answer, so she assumed that he may not even be here at all, despite what Chikusa had said._

_Instead she decided to go to her own room to find something to do, perhaps practicing some Italian or learn something from that cookbook that Kyoko and Haru had bought her before._

_But when she entered her room, she saw the familiar silhouette of her master across the room, looking out the window._

"_Mukuro-sama?" Chrome said, wondering what he was doing in here._

_Mukuro turned from the window and greeted her with a smile._

"_Chrome" he replied in a smooth voice "Where have you been for this long?"_

_Feeling a sting of guilt in her chest for not telling him where she was going, Chrome honestly said:_

"_I've been with Yamamoto-san"._

_Mukuro nodded. He didn't seem surprised._

"_Is… something wrong?" Chrome asked worryingly. It made her anxious when Mukuro acted different than usual._

_Mukuro smiled again and shook his head._

"_Not at all" he assured her. He motioned for her to come over, and she instantly obeyed. Slowly she walked around the bed and stood beside him by the window. Now she noticed the even clearer difference in their heights. He must have grown at least a few centimeters since she had first met him while she was in the hospital. To her great dismay, she was very much aware of the fact that she herself had barely grown at all since that time._

_Mukuro carefully brushed away a strand of hair from her face, still smiling down at her._

"_Yamamoto Takeshi, huh?" he asked curiously "Mind if I ask why?"_

"_W-why?" Chrome repeated confused._

"_It was a date, right?" Mukuro continued casually. Chrome flinched at his choice of words. She wouldn't really have called it a date. It wasn't romantic or anything. Yamamoto treated her like a friend, and she herself hadn't even been given the thought that he might want to be anything besides that._

"_Improved friendship" she corrected him. It was something that Yamamoto had told her that she could call it if she wanted to "It was fun"._

"_I'm sure it was" Mukuro said, though he sounded unconvinced "So, why him?"_

"_He asked me before" Chrome explained "I couldn't say no"._

"_I see" Mukuro said "You couldn't deny that pretty face, huh?"_

_Suddenly his words became harsh. Chrome wasn't used to him using that tone with her._

"_That's not…" she mumbled._

"_Even an innocent creature like you must have desires" Mukuro assumed. Was he angry at her?_

_But it had nothing to do with desire. Yamamoto had suggested the date as a way for him and Chrome to get to know each other better. It was nothing serious. Did Mukuro not understand that?_

"_To be honest, I'm a bit jealous" Mukuro admitted, much to Chrome's surprise. She hadn't thought that he possessed an ability such as jealousy "By each day, my cute little Chrome is slipping further away from me, becoming more independent. As if she no longer needs me, the way I need her"._

_That was so wrong. Chrome needed and cared for Mukuro more than anyone on the planet. If anything, she would have thought that he didn't need _her_ anymore. Or rather, she _knew _that he didn't need her anymore. Even M.M. had said it in the future, that he was only using her._

"_That's not true, Mukuro-sama!" she said and impulsively threw her arms around his waist, holding him close. There was nothing she wanted more than to be of use to him "Mukuro-sama is more important to me than anything else"._

_Mukuro stood still for a while. Then he gently put his arms around her shoulders._

"_Chrome" he said "No, Nagi"._

_Sometimes when they were alone, he would refer to her using her old name. It was usually when he had something important to say._

"_Yes, Mukuro-sama" Chrome answered as she pulled away enough to be able to look at him._

_What happened next shocked her._

_End of flashback._

Hibari stood silent, listening as she reviewed what had happened that specific day. The ending did surprise him. He wasn't expecting that from Mukuro. Not that he cared or anything.

"Every day, I have been out searching for M.M." Chrome continued sadly "But I have no idea where to find her. I'm not sure if she's even in Japan anymore".

So she hadn't been sitting in here all day long then? She had actually been out, trying to set things right again.

"Then why are you only away when I am not here?" Hibari inquired.

"I… I don't know" Chrome said meekly "I guess… I was scared that… you would ask questions".

Hibari snorted.

"I have no interest in what you do" he muttered "I don't give a damn about your relationship with Mukuro, your so-called friends, or… your love life" he spoke the last words in a spiteful voice. As if it disgusted him to even have to say such a thing. Yet at the same time, he felt a strange sensation inside him as he uttered those words. The closest feeling that he could describe it as was frustration.

Chrome looked sad again.

A long pause followed after that, where neither seemed able to come up with anything to say, or they just didn't want to say anything.

Finally, Hibari dropped the letter on the kitchen table and walked away without a word.

Chrome was left in the kitchen alone.

**Somewhere in France, ten days earlier.**

A foreign country.

A country of fashion. A country of food. A country of love.

Wasn't that exactly what Italy was supposed to be too?

This was the first time that Mukuro was in France. It was so close to Italy, yet he had never been here before. He didn't care much anyway, since he only had one reason for coming here. To find _that kid._

Ken and Chikusa had come along. But not Chrome.

Chrome was still in Japan.

It had been a week since _that_ incident. By now, she must have discovered the letter he wrote, and hopefully Sawada Tsunayoshi and his friends were looking after her. Yamamoto perhaps?

Mukuro sighed. He had realized his mistake, and that he had probably scared her. He had found it hard to accept that Chrome had to have her own life and interest. That she couldn't live completely for him, though that was kind of what she did already.

And when he had come to understand Yamamoto's interest for Chrome, he _had _been jealous. Just not on a romantic level. No, he wasn't in love with Chrome, despite his actions might have suggested otherwise. He was wrong, and he admitted that. From now on, if Chrome wanted to date Yamamoto, he wouldn't stand in her way.

And then there was M.M.

Her, he hadn't heard from since _then_ either. He didn't even know where she might be at this point.

"Mukuro-san!" Ken exclaimed suddenly and pointed further ahead down the road "Is this it? That's the sign, byon?"

"Hmh?" Mukuro looked at where he was pointing to read the name of the small village on a wooden sign that they had been looking for "Ah, you're right".

"And who was it that said that we should have gone left back there?" Chikusa asked.

"Sh-shut up, Kaki-pii!" Ken blushed as he realized that he had been wrong.

"Good thing that we let the majority decide which way to go" Chikusa continued teasing.

"Y-you don't have to rub salt in the wound!" Ken cried angrily "Byon!"

Mukuro ignored them. He stood in front of the wooden sign that read the name of the village. He stood there for so long; Ken and Chikusa had already finished their little quarrel.

"Mukuro-san?" Ken asked worryingly. He, like Chrome, would become anxious whenever Mukuro wasn't himself "What is it, byon?"

"It's nothing" Mukuro shook his head and began walking in the direction of the sign "Let's go".

Ken and Chikusa looked at each other questioningly before following him.

Within fifteen minutes, they arrived at the village. It was a typical rural village with old cottages, a small dilapidated church and about a hundred inhabitants. Besides the building, there were green fields and forests as far as the eye could see.

The villagers stared as Mukuro and his followers paced through the streets. Apparently, they weren't used to visitors. They lived a life closed to the outside world.

Mukuro looked around.

Parents instantly took their children by the hand and hurried into their small houses, despite the youngsters' protests.

One old man with a stick attempted to escape as well, even though the visitors hadn't shown any sign of threat. Unfortunately for him, Mukuro was obviously quicker, and had caught up to him within seconds.

"I am looking for someone" Mukuro cut straight to the case "I need directions".

The man looked alarmed, and Mukuro's red eye probably didn't help.

"We… We won't betray each other here!" the man gathered up enough courage to say "Leave at once, stranger!"

"Oya?" Mukuro smirked "You say so?"

"Th-that's right!" the elder said and pointed his wooden stick at Mukuro "No matter what you say, I won't reveal where the person you're looking for is!"

Mukuro couldn't help but wondering if this man was senile or just stupid. He seemed rather confused, yet confident about not spilling any information.

"We aren't here to kill someone" Mukuro explained calmly "We're here to recruit a certain person. His name is Fran. Do you know him?"

"Fran?" the old man said thoughtfully. Then, surprisingly, he smiled "That annoying little runt?"

"That sounds like him, yes" Mukuro chuckled.

"If it's Fran, then you can have him for all I care" the man said and pointed further down the road with his stick "He's living with his grandmother in the outskirts of the village. I'm sure that most people here would be glad to be rid of him, since he's always causing trouble to everyone".

"I see" Mukuro said. Was Fran even more annoying now than in the future? "Then, thank you for your help".

Just as he was leaving with Ken and Chikusa, the elder called out to him:

"That's right! I just remembered!" he said and his small eyes went wide "There was someone else here who was asking for Fran earlier".

"Hmh?" Mukuro said and raised an eyebrow "Someone else?"

"Yes, yes!" the old man seemed excited all of a sudden "A young girl with red hair!"

"Young girl, byon?" Ken said doubtfully.

"With red hair?" Chikusa repeated.

"When was this?" Mukuro inquired.

"Hmh…" the man thought for a while "Maybe half an hour ago. You might catch up to her if you hurry".

Mukuro looked at the old man silently. A young girl… with red hair…? And she was looking for Fran? There was only one person that could possibly fit that description.

"What do you mean, not here?" M.M. inquired. She had tried to stay calm and polite, but after coming this far to find out that Fran wasn't there…

"Don't worry, dear" the old woman, Fran's grandmother said with a gentle smile "I'm sure that he will be back here in a couple of hours. You can wait here if you want".

M.M. sighed tiredly. Sure, it would be nice to rest for a while after walking in high heels for almost two hours. But, she would have hoped to find Fran quickly and bring him back to Japan.

"Fine, I'll wait" she said finally and slumped down onto a chair by the kitchen table.

"Are you hungry? I can cook you something" the woman offered kindly.

"I'm on a diet" M.M. stated shortly.

"Really?" the grandmother sounded shocked "But you're so skinny already!"

"I'm not skinny! Compared to Chrome I'm…" M.M. paused in the middle of the sentence "Oh, right. You don't know her".

It still hurt to think about Chrome. Because whenever she did, she would think about Mukuro too and that day when she had entered Chrome's bedroom to see the two of them…

It probably wasn't even Chrome's fault to begin with, but M.M. would rather blame her than Mukuro.

"Oh!" the elder woman said suddenly and looked out the window "More guests it seems! How nice!"

M.M. instantly stood from the chair and stared out the window as well.

"Mukuro-san…" she mumbled.

She didn't really want to meet him right now. It was too soon.

But, at the same time, she craved to slap him across the face.

Not only had he hurt her feelings, but also for ruining M.M.'s plan of bringing Chrome together with either Hibari or Yamamoto.

Now, Chrome was probably more confused than ever, and it was all Mukuro's fault. Though again, M.M. would rather blame Chrome for it.

"Is it here?" Chikusa's asked as they approached the small house.

"I suppose" Mukuro replied.

"What a shack, byon" Ken commented.

"Now, now, Ken" Mukuro smiled "Don't be rude".

"I wasn't trying to be rude, Mukuro-san" Ken replied with a shrug of his shoulders "I'd rather live in a place like this than in a fancy castle, byon".

"Kufufu" Mukuro laughed amusedly "Is that so?"

Ken nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Chrome's parents were really rich, huh?" he asked out loud, though perhaps he should have kept that thought to himself, since it made Mukuro's smile fade slightly to be reminded of Chrome.

"Mm" the illusionist said after a while.

"No wonder she's so spoiled" the blond said and grimaced "We always have to buy her stuff, byon".

"I'd say that you are more spoiled than Chrome, Ken" Chikusa remarked nonchalantly "Besides, you are the one who keeps buying her candy and chocolate, although she hasn't even asked for it".

"That's not true, byon!" Ken blushed and looked the other way.

Hearing them argue gave Mukuro a nostalgic feeling. He sure had missed it. It certainly was a lot better than being locked up in that water filled container.

Suddenly something caught his eye. A face with distinctively red hair was staring at them through the window.

"As I thought" Mukuro said quietly "She was here after all".

Upon realizing that she had been discovered, M.M. followed the old woman out the door to 'greet' the newcomers.

"Welcome!" Fran's grandmother smiled warmly "Are you looking for Fran too? He's out playing right now".

"I see" Mukuro nodded understandingly. He then turned to M.M., as did Ken and Chikusa.

"Hey! Where the heck have you been, byon?" Ken inquired while glaring at her.

"That's none of your business" M.M. retorted back at him.

"You're more hopeless than Chrome, byon" Ken said and scratched the back of his head.

"Shut up, idiot!" M.M. hissed angrily "Don't compare me to that kid…"

Mukuro frowned.

"M.M., can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

"No, I want to talk to _you _for a moment" M.M. snapped.

Mukuro looked surprised, but refrained from saying anything.

This may _not _turn out pretty.

* * *

In the next chapter there will be one major more similarity to the latest chapter of the manga. I finished it last week, but like I said, I didn't want to update two chapters at once, so you're gonna have to wait for a little while (a few days at most, I'd think).

I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter, and see you again soon! Peace!


	7. Chapter 7

_Okay, first of: I am sooooo terribly sorry for not updating here since… Uh, wait a second… August (?) Oops! D: It's just that I've had so much things to do, and I haven't had much inspiration to continue this story unfortunately… Not to mention that I had completely forgotten about the finished chapter that was lying around, just waiting to be published! A few corrections later, it is here ;) I said that it would take a few days at most… Turns out that it took 6 ½ months. Oh, well, what difference is a few months?_

_Again, I am really sorry for making you wait! It wasn't my intention! As I said, I've been quite busy, and empty of ideas._

_Katekyo Hitman Reborn doesn't belong to me… yet D ….. No really, it doesn't… :/_

The next day, Chrome had decided to try to search for M.M. one final time. It was probably no use, since she may have already left town, like Mukuro and the others had done.

Still, Chrome was unwilling to give up that easily. She would return to Kokuyo Land one final time, just in case M.M. might have returned there to find everyone missing.

After visiting Kokuyo Land, plus having searched for several hours, and even asked people that she met on the street if they had seen M.M., Chrome found her efforts unsuccessful. She had no choice but to return to Hibari's apartment. She had stayed out longer than she had intended to, so now she didn't have much time to do the dishes before Hibari's return.

However, she was in for a shock after she had walked up all those many stairs and arrived at the front door. The door was unlocked, something that made her panic slightly. Had she forgot to lock it after herself?

Hibari had made it very clear that she must not, under any circumstances, leave the door unlocked if _he_ was not at home, _ever_. Not even if she was at home herself. Apparently, burglars had been quite common around here lately. If anyone would actually be dumb enough to break into a person like Hibari Kyoya's apartment. Their chance of survival if Hibari were to find them would be about zero.

And Chrome's chance of survival for leaving the door unlocked would probably not be much bigger.

It turned out there was no need for worry though as Chrome recognized Hibari's black shoes inside.

Now there was another problem. Hibari was home already.

Would he be mad? That was Chrome's biggest concern. She always worried about him getting mad at her for whatever reason. Even when she was sure she had done nothing wrong.

The door to Hibari's bedroom could be seen from the hallway. And since it was closed, he was probably inside. Perhaps Chrome could quietly sneak past into the kitchen to avoid being questioned why the house's condition did _not _live up to Hibari's standards.

Oh, well, she was not that fortunate.

Before she had even had the time to remove her shoes, Hibari was already out of his room. He had probably heard the door open and gone out to check that it was her and not an intruder.

Chrome froze, biting her lip, ready to be interrogated.

But he said nothing. He looked at her for a moment, grunted, and headed towards the kitchen.

Hastily, Chrome reminded herself of the dishes that had to be done and hurried after him.

"I'm sorry that I…" she began to apologize but cut herself off as she couldn't see even a single dirty plate or glass in the sink. That was weird, she was almost certain that she hadn't taken care of it already.

Hibari sat down by the table, on the same seat where Chrome used to sit when she greeted him each day as he returned from school.

"No smile and welcome back today?" Hibari wondered out loud.

Confused, Chrome wasn't sure what to say or do.

"Uhm… Welcome back?" she said eventually and gave him a nervous smile. She began to ponder about why he was so early today. It was only 3 p.m.

Usually he wouldn't be home until 5. Or even later sometimes.

She glanced at the sink and then back to him again. Had he…?

"Yes, I took care of it" Hibari told her as an answer to her confused look "I'm not disabled, if that's what you think".

No, of course that's not what she had thought. But she didn't say anything, since she would not want to start a conflict with him, a conflict where he would come out as the victor anyway. She just blushed and lowered her head.

A white paper bag that had been placed on the table suddenly caught Chrome's interest. There was a note on it, reading the word 'Herbivore'. That could be anyone.

Noticing how she was curiously looking at the bag, Hibari reached out for it and grabbed it.

"What's that?" Chrome asked, unable to hide her curiosity.

Hibari didn't answer. He simply held the bag towards her, urging for her to take it.

A present?

No, that couldn't be right. There was no way that Hibari Kyoya would ever buy her a present. He obviously detested her, though that feeling was not mutual from Chrome's side.

Chrome accepted the 'gift' and opened it to see what was inside.

"I have another condition for you living here" Hibari stated suddenly as Chrome pulled out the contents of the bag "I can no longer agree to have an uneducated woman living under my roof".

Chrome blinked as she held up a white shirt. There was a dark blue vest and a skirt in the bag too, among other things, composing a school uniform which looked just like the one Sasagawa Kyoko wore.

Realizing what this meant, Chrome stared at Hibari as if she couldn't believe her eyes, or her ears for that matter.

"You want me to…?" she said slowly.

"Yes" Hibari replied shortly "I'll make sure you'll be in the same class as those other Mafia herbivores" he crossed his arms over his chest before continuing: "You'll start tomorrow".

Chrome nodded.

This might be the distraction that she needed. She had already realized several days ago that it would be pointless to continue searching for M.M., yet she had kept going.

If she had lessons and schoolwork to keep track of, she wouldn't have time to _only _think about what happened between Mukuro and herself. M.M.'s hurt and dejected face upon entering Chrome's bedroom at Kokuyo Land was another image that she just couldn't seem to get out of her mind. It was haunting her in her sleep and made her cry in the middle of the night. She wouldn't be surprised if she had woken Hibari a couple of times, though he had never mentioned anything of it.

Well, this might be a good idea actually. Chrome had secretly missed studying and doing homework, weird as it may sound. Before, it used to keep her busy for a while and gave her a reason to avoid her parents.

The classmates were another story though. She could have done without them.

But if she was in the same class as Tsuna and the others, she thought that she might actually get along with the rest of the class as well. And even if she wouldn't, she knew that there would at least be one friendly girl there to welcome her, Kyoko.

Before she knew it, Chrome was becoming very eager about going to school. Like a small child who was going to school for the first time, she was excited.

"One more thing though" Hibari snapped her out of her daydreams "You mustn't tell anyone that you are staying here".

"Eh?" Chrome said. She wasn't planning on doing that, but his demand had still somehow managed to surprise her.

"Not anyone" Hibari repeated, grey eyes narrowing dangerously "If you do, I will be forced to bite you to death".

Chrome quickly nodded and took a step back with the shirt pressed against her chest, like a shield to protect her from Hibari's threats.

Hibari seemed satisfied with that. He stood up and looked over at the sink. He snorted disapprovingly before heading back towards the bedroom. Though he hadn't scolded her for not doing the dishes, that disapproving grunt was all that Chrome had needed to hear. Tomorrow, after school, she'd make sure to be home before him.

**7:48 a.m.**

It wasn't the glistening of the sun shining through the window that woke Chrome in the morning, but rather a beautiful birdsong that had filled the room.

Slowly, Chrome rose into a sitting position and gazed around drowsily. The TV wasn't on, so the sound wasn't coming from there. No windows were open either, so it wasn't coming from outside.

It was too close to be coming from anywhere besides from inside.

Finally, she felt a small weight in her lap. She smiled as Hibird gazed up at her expectantly and calling her name. She was glad that it remembered her.

A rolled up paper was tied to its foot.

_It must be from Cloud-person_, Chrome thought as she removed the item from the bird and unfolded it. She wouldn't have called it a letter. It was just a note, one sentence.

_I won't go easy on you if you're late, so don't expect any special treatment._

Chrome pursed her lips. Of course she wasn't going to be late. She had barely been able to sleep since she had been so excited and nervous about today. So there was no way that she…

The oversized clock on the wall on the other side of the room caught her eye.

8:25?

Chrome practically flew out of bed, or rather sofa (which Hibari had been so kind to let her sleep on), and rushed into the bathroom, grabbing her brand new uniform on her way, to get dressed and prepare for school. There was no time to eat breakfast. The worst thing that could happen today would be for her to be late.

She had heard many times by Tsuna how fearful the Disciplinary Committee, or rather Hibari, could be if arriving late, something that Tsuna had been unfortunate to experience one time too many.

Kusakabe was alright though. Chrome had become acquainted with him in the future, where he had been very considerate towards her, which had made her rather fond of him. At least she hoped that he would be the same kind of person in this era too. Though his appearance might scare people, Chrome knew that he was not someone to be afraid of, especially not compared to Hibari. Appearances could be deceiving, something that Chrome had had to learn from a very young age.

Luckily, she managed to arrive at school in time, thus avoid being bitten to death. Students were still walking through the gate, chatting idly with one another, seemingly unworried about Hibari coming to attack them.

Chrome looked around herself. She was feeling quite lost. She had no idea where she was supposed to go, since she had never been _inside _before. She could find her way to the gymnasium since she had fought for the Mist Ring against Mammon there before, but that was about it.

First, she figured that she should find Hibari to report in. He should be able to show her where she was to go as well.

"Are you new?" a voice asked behind her. Chrome turned around and saw a girl standing behind her. She was quite tall and her long curly hair reached well past her shoulders.

Chrome nodded. This girl seemed as though she could be trusted.

"I thought so" the girl with the wavy hair said and held out a hand towards Chrome "Nice to meet you. I'm Kurokawa Hana".

"N-nice to meet you" Chrome replied shyly and shook her hand "Kurokawa Hana".

To Chrome's surprise, Hana laughed.

"You have the same name as me?" Hana smiled as she withdrew her hand "I was expecting you to introduce yourself".

"Oh" Chrome said blushing "Uhm… I'm Chrome Dokuro".

Hana continued smiling. It was a nice smile, filled with the same kindness that Kyoko or Haru used to have when talking to her.

"I… I'm looking for… Hibari-san" Chrome said, refraining from calling him 'Cloud-person' like she normally did. Tsuna and the others knew who she meant when she said it, but people outside the Mafia may not understand.

"Hibari?" Hana looked a bit frightened all of a sudden "O-okay. Uhm… I'll take you there".

It was easy to tell that she'd rather not to. Well, who could blame her? People wouldn't willingly go visit Hibari if it could be avoided.

Hana led Chrome through the corridor of the second floor. Students looked at Chrome curiously as she walked past them. Probably due to her hairstyle and eye patch. It made her really stick out from the crowd, and she didn't like it. She'd much rather blend in with everyone else, and if possible, go unnoticed.

Hana stopped outside a door, reading 'Disciplinary Committee' and motioned for Chrome to step forward.

"I'm sorry, but he scares the crap out of me" Hana whispered.

Chrome nodded. This was fine. She could handle things from now on.

"Thank you" she said gratefully, to which Hana waved and wished her good luck before leaving.

Chrome knocked on the door. She wasn't late, so there was no need for her to feel nervous.

Instead of seeing Hibari standing on the other side of the door, she saw Kusakabe. Tall and muscular as ever, the stern expression on his face softened as he saw who it was.

"Chrome-san!" he said, appearing to be honestly glad to see her "It's been a while! How have you been?"

"Quit the pointless chit-chat" Hibari demanded from behind him before Chrome got the chance to reply. She managed to catch a glimpse of him sitting behind a wooden desk, writing on some sort of document in front of him. He seemed to be busy.

"Yes, Kyo-san" Kusakabe obeyed and opened the door more to let Chrome in.

The office was very… office-like. The desk that Chrome had seen was standing in the far off side of the room. Two sofas were occupying the middle of the area and bookshelves were covering both the left and the right walls. There was a large window behind the desk from which one would probably have a great view over the school grounds as well as the town. As Chrome walked further into the room, she could see all the way to the forest and the mountains in the horizon.

Hibari continued writing, without even looking up to recognize Chrome's presence. Chrome stood in front of the desk, next to Kusakabe for several minutes before Hibari actually put his pencil down and the paper on top of a thick but neat stack of already filled out papers.

"Tetsu, wait outside" Hibari commanded, and Kusakabe was quick to do as he was told. He knew all too well what Hibari was capable of if infuriated, and he had no desire of getting in the way of that rage.

He politely nodded at Chrome before excusing himself and leaving the office, making sure to close the door behind him.

"Shouldn't I… go to class?" Chrome was the first to speak. She was aware of whom she was talking to, but she really didn't want to be late.

Hibari glared at her.

"Hmph" he grunted after a while "You're the one who came here" Chrome noticed him inspecting her new outfit, at it made her feel nervous. Had she forgotten something? Had she not buttoned the top button? Did it look strange on her? "It looks better on you".

Chrome blinked confused. Was he complementing her?

"Uhm… Thank you" she said hesitantly.

"Now leave" Hibari ordered "Tetsu will show you to the classroom".

Chrome bowed and walked out the door. For some reason, she had, sort of, hoped that Hibari would bring her there. She wasn't sure why, but perhaps she wanted to somehow prove to the class that she was special to him, though she already knew she didn't. Maybe she had wanted him to show that if they were to pick on her, they'd have to deal with him.

But she meant nothing to him. No one did.

Meeting with her class went surprisingly well and was not nearly as frightening as she had thought it would be; perhaps because she already knew a few of them.

When the teacher introduced her, she saw Kyoko smiling excitedly at her, obviously happy that Chrome was joining the group. Tsuna had been happy about it too, but at first he had looked really shocked and even shouted out her name, as if he had to confirm that it was actually her.

Gokudera had been the first to discover her. He had been gaping like a goldfish when Chrome greeted the class, but quickly regained his senses and asked suspiciously if Mukuro had been the one who sent her, unknowingly hurting Chrome's feelings when reminding her of her master.

Yamamoto had been asleep apparently, so it had taken a while for him to come to and realize that he had just got a new classmate, and that it was the girl he liked too.

From the look of it, he was at least as happy as Kyoko to see her.

After a while, Chrome noticed the girl that she had met earlier in the morning. Hana, was it?

Well, this wouldn't be so bad. She might actually enjoy being here.

If not, it would at least keep Mukuro and M.M. out of her mind, even if for just a little while.

The class had seemed very curious of Chrome. As soon as the lesson was over, people surrounded her to ask her all kinds of questions, like her hobbies, favorite color and food, about her eye patch.

Someone had even asked if she had a boyfriend, to which Chrome had become flustered and unsure of how to answer. She had glanced over at Yamamoto, though he hadn't seemed to notice. She didn't consider him as her boyfriend, but she wasn't sure how he viewed her. If their relationship had made even Mukuro jealous, perhaps there was something there that others could see but she couldn't.

For some reason, Hibari popped up in her mind. But they couldn't even be considered friends, if it was up to him.

By lunch, Kyoko and Hana invited Chrome to eat together with them.

Since Chrome had woken up so late, she hadn't had time to make a bento of her own, and not to mention that she was starving for not eating breakfast either. Now she cursed herself for not preparing before going to sleep yesterday. Unlike most other students, she didn't have a loving mother who could make the lunch for her. Even when she had been known as Nagi, her mother had been unwilling to do it. Usually, it had been a member of the staff that had prepared it for her. Someone who worked for her parents that was.

They must all be glad not having to think about that anymore.

Fortunately, Kyoko and Hana were so nice that they shared their lunches with her, or rather, they insisted that she ate despite her not asking. Truth to be told, they offered her more than they ate themselves, as if they thought that she wasn't eating properly, which was kind of true. Kyoko must have already been aware of it since she had witnessed her small appetite in the future.

Tsuna, Gokudera and Yamamoto were passing by, looking for a place to eat their lunch. Tsuna got all excited and nervous when Kyoko smiled and invited them to join them. Gokudera on the other hand snorted in annoyance. Chrome noticed him glaring at her, and it made her cringe. What had she done to anger him this time? He had been so nice when bringing her the food Yamamoto made for her two weeks ago. Okay, maybe not nice. Reluctant consideration was perhaps a better description.

He reminded her a bit of M.M.

Yamamoto sat beside Chrome and smiled cheerfully at her. He honestly seemed to be the happiest about her being there.

As Tsuna at last had come to his senses about sitting next to Kyoko, he turned to Chrome since there was something on his mind, besides the imaginary picture of Kyoko and him sitting together at the beach of a tropical island, holding hands, and the sun setting in the horizon.

"Chrome" Tsuna called out to gain said girl's attention "Mukuro is alright with you being here, right? Is he the one who suggested it?"

"Of course, it has to be" Gokudera replied in Chrome's place, although he knew nothing of what had happened "That Mukuro obviously only wants Juudaime's body".

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna scolded him quietly.

Hana looked confused, not to mention disgusted. She had no idea what they were talking about, or who this Mukuro-person was. To hear Gokudera say that there was a guy who wanted Tsuna's body sounded really appalling to her. Not that she had anything against people who preferred a partner of the same sex. It was just the way it had been said. Couldn't 'he wants Tsuna' have been enough?

She kept her thoughts to herself though. Perhaps they'd automatically give some sort of explanation to this weird statement.

"That's not it" Chrome cut in. She was feeling a bit upset that they had to assume that everything she did was because of Mukuro. She'd practically do anything that he asked, but that didn't mean she didn't have a will of her own. Though she hadn't chosen to come to school herself, it was Hibari's demand. But she couldn't tell them that. Hibari would be furious if he'd find out.

"Then what?" Gokudera snapped at her "Clearly Mukuro's got something up his sleeve! So what are his plans?"

"I don't know" Chrome said sadly. She couldn't start crying now. Not here.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Gokudera continued pushing her.

"I haven't seen him in two weeks" Chrome said. They all seemed shocked, except for Hana who just continued looking confused.

"Eh?" Yamamoto said and his eyes went wide "Why? Did you guys have a fight?"

At least _he _wasn't jealous about her relationship with Mukuro. Chrome was grateful for that.

Chrome shrugged her shoulders. She wouldn't have called it a fight. There hadn't been any foul words exchanged, no tears, no fists and no anger. It was more of a dispute concerning Mukuro and M.M., and Chrome had just happened to get in between.

But had it not been for her, nothing of this would have happened. Mukuro wouldn't have become jealous, M.M. wouldn't have become hurt, and Chrome wouldn't have had to ask Hibari for shelter.

To be honest, if Yamamoto hadn't asked her out, things wouldn't have become like this. But Chrome couldn't blame him. He had only wanted to be nice. It wasn't his fault.

Chrome knew that they were all waiting for an answer, but she didn't know what to say without having to retell the whole story again. She didn't want them to know. It was enough if Hibari knew.

"Mukuro-sama, Ken and Chikusa" Chrome began "They all left".

She missed Mukuro tremendously. Whether it was his smile when he looked at her, his funny laugh, or his amazing illusions, she missed all of it. She missed the contemplative look in his eyes when there was something was bothering him. And she missed how he would sit on the side of her bed when she couldn't sleep and stroke her hair until she would close her eyes, while whispering gentle words, like a lullaby. Sometimes she would purposely stay awake for a while longer, just so that she could have him by her side for a few minutes more.

She even missed Ken and his insults and Chikusa with his indifferent personality.

"Left?" Tsuna sounded shocked "You mean, you're all alone there?"

He couldn't imagine being all alone at a place like Kokuyo Land. Had it been him, he would never be able to sleep. It was just that creepy.

"No, I…" Chrome hesitated. Hibari's words of warning suddenly echoed in her head: _You mustn't tell anyone that you are staying here. _He had shown great hospitality towards her, if though grudgingly. She wasn't planning on letting him down "Yes, that's right".

"Chrome-chan!" Kyoko half-scolded her. One couldn't take her quite seriously when she tried to scold someone. She was too nice "Why didn't you say anything? You could have come and live with me!"

Chrome was flattered. But instead of agreeing, she shook her head, declining the generous offer. If only Hibari had been this welcoming towards her.

"It's alright" Chrome assured the girl next to her. She knew that Kyoko was concerned for her, but she was really fine. She had already gotten used to living with Hibari, and to be honest she kind of, dare she say, enjoyed it.

She could see that both Tsuna and Yamamoto were thinking the same thing as Kyoko. But Tsuna's house was already full of people. His poor mother must have a hard time cooking and taking care of everyone. Taking care of Lambo alone must be tiring enough.

Living with Yamamoto would have been even worse. Not that there was anything wrong with him or anything. Chrome admired him a lot. He was very kind and surely he would have shown her much more hospitality than Hibari could ever do. But there was this strange bond that they shared, where Chrome wasn't sure where they stood, if they were only friends or something more.

The situation would be embarrassing with just the two of them alone, and eventually become unbearable. She'd rather they remain the way they were now.

_That was chapter 7. It's a kinda slow-paced story, don't you think? If you're thinking 'Where the hell is the romance?', my answer for you is: ..._

_No, really, the whole point of this story is a slow development between Chrome and Hibari. More chapter's that way XD. I'd like to keep the characters as true to themselves as I can, but it's hard and won't be absolutely possible when putting Hibari and Chrome together in a romantic fanfiction._

Personally I prefer stories that doesn't rush things and shows a steady advance with lots of up's and down's, if you know what I mean (Damn, it's hard to explain in English…!) Besides, I can't really picture Hibari rushing into something that he is not familiar or comfortable with and the same goes for Chrome. 

_Anywaaaays, I hope you can bear with my tardiness. I swear I'll try to update… No, I shouldn't say anything. Every time I promise to do something here, I end up not doing it… Sigh…_


End file.
